Battlestar Argo
by AJMarks
Summary: Set approximately 10 years before the show, this is about a new battlestar, the Argo, and it's mission in a hope to save humanity from the Cylons. A new crew, join Commander Ares, Colonel Pratt, and Bri, Troy and Nall as they struggle to complete the mission given to them by Commander Cain.
1. Chapter 1: Battlestar Argo

Disclaimers: 'Battlestar Galactica' and its characters belong to Universal City Studios, USA. This story is intended strictly for enjoyment to the reader.

Disclaimer 2: This will be a long story, each part about 4k words, and about 80 parts. I plan to upload a part every other day until completed. When uploading I use 'sssss' as a placeholder for scene breaks, and I might miss one here and there after uploading, so if you see that, it just means change in scene. Hope you all enjoy the story.

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**The Mission**

Colonel Ares walked down the hallway towards his commander's office. He had been summoned there not long ago and now he was wondering what he had done. Commander Backas was a tough man to work for but if you did your job he was good to you. At the moment he was trying to go over everything that he had done lately because about the only time you got called to the commander's office was when you did something wrong.

Ares stopped in front of the door to the commander's office and waited for a few seconds before knocking. He had to gather his courage to go into the man's office. He raised his hand and knocked and waited a few seconds before the command to enter was given. The door swung open and he walked in not expecting to see what he was seeing inside the office.

Commander Backas was sitting there at his desk but it was the man who was sitting across from him that really got to Ares. It was the legendary Commander Cain. It was rumored that Cain was going to be sent with the Fifth fleet to help out one of their allies fight against the Cylons. Two commanders of such caliber made him a bit nervous and excited at the same time. Perhaps this was a promotion to a ship that would be in the fifth fleet. That would mean he would see battle under a great commander.

"Ah, so this is the man you've been talking about," Cain got up and walked over to Ares. "Commander Cain and you must be Colonel Ares."

"Uh, yes sir," Ares said snapping out of his stupor at the knowledge that his commander had been talking about him. Not only talking about him but to the Commander Cain.

"Let's dispense with the formalities here," Cain said with a wave of hand. "Have a seat."'

"Yes sir," Ares said walking over to the chair and having a seat.

"Well, you're probably wondering why we've called you here," Backas said knowing that his colonel was thinking that he had done something wrong. In fact it was just the opposite. "Commander Cain has approached me with an interesting mission. You can decline the mission if you want, but we would like you to lead it, if you feel up to it."

"You've been selected to undertake a mission unlike any other in this war," Cain said. "It is also one that is the most secretive."

"And the most dangerous," Backas added making Ares wonder what the mission was.

"From here on out everything you hear will be for your ears only," Cain said. "None of this is to be leaked out to anyone else who is not involved in the mission, is that understood."

"I understand," Ares said.

"Good, not in case you don't know the war is not going well for us," Backas said bluntly. It was something that Ares had suspected but it was not something he had expected to hear so bluntly from his commanders.

"That is why we've come up with this plan. A new battlestar was just secretly commissioned without the council's knowledge. We already have a mission for it. If you accept it then your mission would be to find Earth," Cain said.

"Earth, the thirteenth tribe, that's just a legend told to children at bedtime by their parents," Ares replied wondering if his commanders had finally cracked.

"We have reason to believe that it is more than legend, but fact. The commanders of the fleet know about this and an unwritten order was given. If the fleet falls, then whoever is left will take the remaining ships and head to Earth," Cain said. "Now give me a couple of battlestars and I'll take them straight to the Cylon headquarters and destroy them but at the moment we can't spare two battlestars away from our defense."

"I'm to find Earth, a myth, legend and then do what," Ares asked not sure about this mission.

"Prepare them. The Cylons will be coming for them after they finally finish with the Colonies. Or you can have them come and help us," Cain said emphasizing which one he would do.

"Either way you may not be able to return to this space again in your lifetime," Backas said. "I mentioned your name to Cain because you are that good, and that you have no family to tie you here and neither does most of the crew."

"So I would be in charge of a new battlestar on a mission to find Earth," Ares asked making sure that he had heard his commanders correctly.

"Yes, that and a promotion would be coming to you as well. You would hold the rank of commander," Cain said. "I would really like it for you to undertake this mission. It might just save us all."

"Let me think about it," Ares said.

"Sound good. A wise commander doesn't rush into anything without knowledge first. Just be sure to let us know if you accept this mission," Cain said rising to shake Ares' hand.

* * *

A young man walked into the rec area of the battlestar and glanced around. He spotted a friend of his and walked on over to the man. Sitting down next to him the man was amazed that his friend did not even glance over. His brows were deep in thought.

"Ares, what's wrong," the man asked.

Ares blinked at the sound of his name and glanced over to see who had spoken. Troy was sitting down next to him and he had not even noticed.

"Nothing much Troy," Ares replied as he continued to think about the mission that Cain had mentioned to him.

"Nothings nothing, now what's wrong," Troy persisted back.

"Can't say," Ares replied. He thought about his friend and realized that the man had been brought up by his parents to be extremely religious. He would have deep thoughts about religion which Ares dismissed as myths and legends.

"Ah, so that type of secret. Must be big whatever it is," Troy said.

"Troy, what do you think about the thirteenth tribe and Earth," Ares asked.

Troy was a bit taken back by that but then realized that maybe his friend had gotten some religion. "It is written in the Book of Kobal that the thirteenth tribe was the last to leave Kobal. The planet was no longer able to support life. Wars and disease had ravaged the land. The leaders of the thirteenth tribe did not wish to follow the others. They set out across the vast void to a new homeworld that had been discovered far away from the rest of the galaxy. They had called the planet Earth. From there, there is not much, only pieces of myths that are not part of the book."

Ares thought about that for a second before asking his next question. "Do you believe in Earth?"

"Yes I do," Troy said without hesitation. "I've kind of studied it all my life. It's a great mystery that has enough legends to support it more than anything else. In fact if it wasn't for this damn war I would be out there trying to find it. I have some ideas as to where it might be."

Ares thought about that for a few seconds before getting up. He thank Troy for helping him out and walked quickly back to the commander's office. Troy sat in the rec room wondering what had just happened. With a shrug he decided that when the time was right Ares would tell him.

* * *

Ares knocked on the door and walked into the commander's office. Backas was sitting there looking up at his second in command. By the look on Aries' face Backas had the feeling that the man had made up his mind.

"I would like to take the mission, but I would like to add a person to my crew," Ares said.

"Really, who," Backas asked.

"Lieutenant Troy," Ares said. "He's yellow squad leader and an amateur Earth historian."

"Hmm, that would help you out. We don't have many who have been studying where Earth may be," Backas said. "We shall ask him then."

A moment later Troy was sitting in Backas' office along with Ares. He wondered what his friend had gotten into now. Backas looked at the man and knew that he might not go.

"Lieutenant what you are about to hear is classified. You must not talk about it to anyone is that understood," Backas said.

"Yes sir," Troy replied.

"Good," Backas said leaning back in his chair. "Ares has been assigned to a mission to find Earth. We would like you to go along as part of his crew."

Troy's eyes grew round and wide at that thought. It was something that he always dreamed of. He knew that he would be one to find Earth. The only thing was he would be away from his family and friends. The other two men watched as the emotions ran across Troy's face until he finally came to a conclusion.

"I'll do it," he said. "It's what I've dreamed of all my life."

"You may not ever see your family again," Backas said.

"I know, but what I also know is that if nothing is done we will lose the war to the Cylons," Troy said.

"Really, how do you know that," Backas said.

"I've been blessed and cursed as a seer. My family has always had the abilities. I've seen this ship destroyed in a last battle with only one surviving. It will gather up the survivors and flee the colonies. I don't know when this will happen but if we can reach Earth and help them prepare for the Cylons then perhaps we can avoid this possible future," Troy said.

"I see," Backas said. "Then I'll count you in. You will leave as soon as everything is done."

* * *

Troy walked into his parent's house to tell them that he was going on a long mission. He was not sure how they would take the news of this seeing that he was not sure when, if ever, he would be returning back to the colonies.

"Troy, it's so good to see you," his mom said as she walked up to him and gave him a hug. She noticed that he seemed a bit tense and wondered what had happened so she asked him.

"I'll tell you at supper tonight," Troy replied. They spent the rest of the afternoon catching up until his father got home from work.

Troy watched his father as he seemed to know something. Troy was not sure if his father already knew what was going to happen as well or not.

They sat down at the table and his mom asked him again what was wrong. He was not sure how to tell them that he may never return. Sure being in the military there was a good chance that he would not return from a mission but this was different. They would not know if he was alive or dead.

"I've been picked for a mission," Troy finally said.

"That's wonderful," his mother replied but his father did not say anything.

"Yeah, but I'm not sure when I'll return," Troy said. "It might be a long time, even yehrens."

"Oh," his mother said. "Is the mission important?"

"Yes," his father replied. "You must go on this mission son."

Troy and his mom looked at him for a second. Troy was sure that his father knew something. He wondered if he had seen something about the mission but like he had of the destruction of the fleet. Instead his father only got up and walked over to a box that had been sitting on the counter table. It was one that Troy was familiar with all of his life. His father opened the box which surprised Troy. He had not known that the box opened. His father took out a medallion and handed it to him.

"You'll need this on your trip then," his father said.

"Ah, what is it," Troy asked as he took the medallion not quite sure what to do with it.

"It is something that has been handed down though the generations to the oldest male of the family," his father said. "You will need it to get in."

"Get in, get in where," Troy asked not quite sure what his father was talking about.

"I'm not sure where, I just know that without you on this mission we all fall," his father said.

"All right, I'll take it," Troy said. They continued to talk though the night until Troy realized that it was time for him to leave. They said their goodbyes and Troy headed off for his assignment.

* * *

Ares and Troy felt the shuttle land aboard the new battlestar they had called Argo. It was to reflect the mission they were about to undertake. It was his command now and he hoped that he did well. One thing about this command was it would be a long mission and he probably would never see anyone from the colonies again.

"Well, here we are, our new home," Troy said as they stepped out of the shuttle. Supplies were still being put on the ship in an effort to stock the ship up completely. There was no telling when the next time they would be able to gather food might be. The same was said for fuel. It was full plus some additional areas were also used to store the fuel.

The two men made their way up to the bridge so Ares could officially take up his command. Walking into the room he noticed that almost everyone was hard at work making sure that the systems were working. If there was a bug in any system they wanted to know about it now and not later.

"Commander on deck," a voice called out and Ares could only think it was his second in command.

"Everyone at ease. Let's get this ship ready to go," he said rubbing his hands together.

The man who had said it came walking up to him. Ares studied the man a bit. Had was a man of short stature and close cropped hair. He was a professional military man from what Aries could tell and Aries wondered at how this mission would affect the man.

"Commander Ares, I'm Colonel Pratt," the man said.

"Colonel good to meet you," Ares said shaking the man's hand. "I'm just getting a quick tour of the ship before heading to my quarters."

"Well, I assure you that everything will be ready on time," Pratt said.

"Good, but its not like we have an official time schedule and a delay of a day or two will not affect the mission too much," Ares said. It was something that was true. Realistically they could begin this mission next yehren and still complete the mission.

"Yes, but we shouldn't waste time in this," Troy replied. He had the feeling that perhaps time was an important factor in this.

"All right, keep me in formed. I'm going to my quarters then set up my office. Let me know when Commander Cain arrives," Ares said turning to walk off the bridge. Once the ship was ready to go and Cain had given him the last of his orders then they were to head out.

It did not take long for Ares to find his quarters. Troy had taken off for his own quarters and to find the pilots briefing room. Glancing around he noticed that his stuff had arrived and was in a box in the corner. He would unpack later. He figured that he would have lots of time to do that.

He then made his way over to his office where he saw that the rest of his stuff had been delivered. The room was actually quite spacious and would allow him to conduct business in here along with the council room. He could only hope that the council room would be used for what they thought it would be a meeting with the leaders of Earth.

The communicator rang and Ares picked it up. It was Pratt informing him that Commander Cain had arrived. Ares acknowledged the message and waited for the commander to arrive. He did not have to wait too long until the door opened to reveal the legendary commander.

"Commander Ares, how are you settling into the command," Cain asked as they shook hands.

"I think pretty well. It is quite overwhelming though," Ares said honestly.

"Ah, honest, I like that," Cain said. "There is one more part of the mission that you should know. If for whatever reason the crew becomes too rebellious or you encounter a hostile enemy you have the authority to abort the mission."

"I'll keep that in mind," Ares replied.

For the next while Cain told Ares what they knew about Earth. Ares had already talked to Troy and he seemed to know as much which was good. The man had been allowed to grab as much information about the planet as he wanted. It had been stacked in the library room that had been made up just for that purpose. A lot of the people also had an interest in finding the lost thirteenth tribe. Ares figured that the only way he would turn around is if he encountered a hostile enemy.

Later Ares was on the flight deck telling Cain goodbye and good luck on his fight against the Cylons. Cain wished Aries luck in finding Earth. Shortly after the commander left the battlestar Ares headed up to the bridge.

Arriving on the bridge he glanced around and then outside the window. It would probably be the last time he saw this part of the universe.

"All right, helm plot a course for this point," Ares said. It was the path that it was thought would lead them to the planet Kobal. From there they would start their search. "All ahead one half."

The massive battlestar's engines powered up and the ship began to move away from the colonies.

* * *

Backas stood on the deck of the Pacifica. Blood was running down his face but he ignored it. They had already lost the Atlantia and the other two battlestars. The Galactica had taken off already. His first thought was that Adama had been a coward but then realized that the colonies were also under attack. The Galactica was on its way to try and help.

Backas knew that it would arrive too late to help and his own ship was rapidly falling apart. Cylon suicide attacks were taking their toll on the warship. His crew was looking at him for commands but he knew that they understood what was about to happen.

"Commander, we're falling apart. Damage crews can no longer contain the fires," his second in command said.

"Do all we can," Backas said. "We will die this day, but we must hang on as long as we can. We must give the Galactica time."

"Time, I don't understand," the colonel said.

"No, I don't think you will," Backas said as he thought about another second in command he had. The Galactica would be the battlestar that would survive and lead the survivors to Earth.

"What do we do," another person said.

"Helm, try and turn the ship away from where the Galactica went. We need to give the Galactica as much distance as possible," Backas said.

"But commander, we can still go to light speed and flee," the colonel said.

"NO," Backas said. "The Pacifica is too damaged. We can do nothing but delay the Cylons. Every moment is precious. The colonies are destroyed. Adama will take the survivors to Earth. He must be given the time to organize. We turn away from the Galactica."

"Yes sir," the helm officer said as the battlestar turned and moved away from the fight. To the Cylons it looked like the battlestar might be trying to flee so they followed.

"Communications, send a narrow high speed communiqué on this course," Backas said. "This is the message, fleet destroyed, Galactica alone."

"That's it sir," the communications officer asked not sure about it.

"Do it, now," Backas replied.

"Yes sir," the communications officer replied quickly sending the message.

Backas stood there as his ship shuddered some more until the point where he could feel that it would take no more. Without sorrow he waited calmly for death to come to him. His calmness allowed for the others to meet death just as peacefully.

Several yehrens ago he had sent Ares and the battlestar Argo on its mission. They had not heard from the ship since. Cain had been lost several yehrens ago and now just as Troy had said so long ago in his office all of the fleet except one battlestar would be destroyed.

"I hope Earth is ready Ares, because the Cylons are coming now," Bachas whispered as his ship exploded.


	2. Chapter 2: Legend

Disclaimers: 'Battlestar Galactica' and its characters belong to Universal City Studios, USA. This story is intended strictly for enjoyment to the reader.

Edit Note: I use 'sssss' to signify a scene separation, as my usual '*****' is not being saved on this site.

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Legend's Beginning**

Ares glanced out of the window for about the hundredth time. So far all they could see was pitch blackness. There was little that they could do except head straight though. Troy had said that to get to Kobal they needed to head though a great void. The end of the void would be a bright light leading them out of the darkness.

He was still trying to figure out what created this darkness. There was no viable explanation for it. It was almost as if the Argo had entered a black hole. There was little for everyone to do except to wait until they reached the end of the void. He did wonder as to how the survivors of Kobal had made it through the void as even they were struggling. Troy said that it was the light of a distant star that led them out of the void. Ares wondered if it was not all just a fable even though the void did seem to exist.

"Commander," Pratt said gaining Ares attention. "Take a look commander," he said pointing out to the window. There in the view was a single light almost as if it was a beacon.

"Helm, make a new course and head towards that light," Ares said to which the helm replied.

It did not take as long as Ares thought until they came out of the void and he could see stars all around now. The star that had led them out of the void had several planets around it and one seemed like it had held life at one time. The other strange thing was it had ancient buildings on the planet's surface. Troy was almost begging to go the surface of the planet. After a few minutes Ares finally relented and allowed a small team led by Troy to go down.

sssss

Troy approached the shuttle that also had five other people. The group consisted of a scientist, another technician and three warriors. The scientist and technician Troy did not know but the three warriors he did now. They quickly boarded the shuttle which was given permission to launch and they made their way to the surface of the planet.

"What do you think we'll find," one person said. Troy looked over to see that it was Bri who had said something. He could remember that her real name was Gabrielle, but everyone called her Bri instead.

No one was really sure what they would find on the planet's surface. A couple of them thought that this planet could be Kobal but there was no way of knowing just yet. Troy thought that privately everyone hoped that it was the legendary planet as it might contain some clues to where the thirteenth tribe had gone.

"So where do you think we should go," the pilot asked. Everyone glanced out the window to see what was out there. It was something that Troy was sure everyone had been thinking about already. They were looking around when someone noticed what appeared to be pyramids in the distance. Deciding that it might be the best bet they made their way there.

Settling down on the surface of the planet the shuttle doors opened and they were able to see what the pyramids looked like up close. There were three of them and each was quite large and grand looking.

"Well," Bri asked the group. They all looked at what was before them.

"Tell you what, lest split up," Troy said. "We can cover more ground that way, just be sure to keep in radio contact."

"Good idea," the scientist said. "I'll go to one pyramid, my assistant to another and you to the third."

"And we'll each take a warrior with us just in case," Troy said.

Troy paired up with Bri and together they walked off towards the far pyramid. The sun was not too hot even though it was still on its journey up. Troy figured that it would only get hotter as they continued to approach the pyramid.

"What are we looking for," Bri asked as her green eyes scanned the pyramid.

"I'm not sure Bri," Troy replied as they continued their trek. It was something that he had been thinking about himself. He would have rather gone to the large pyramid but the scientist had taken that one instead so he was left with this one.

"Do you really think that this is Kobal," Bri asked him.

"Well, I'm not sure but it could be," Troy replied to her question. They continued to walk as Bri talked almost the entire time. He had learned that she had been an orphan early in her life thanks to the Cylons. She had wanted to serve in the Colonial forces ever since. She wanted to one day command a battlestar but had ended up volunteering for this mission as something told her to.

Troy only had to nod his head and say yes or no as Bri continued to talk to him. He had found out that the woman was not shy about anything. He had wondered if he would be able to talk to her but now realized that he would not have to say anything.

"Wow, it's huge, not as large as the grand one but it's still massive," Bri said as she looked at the massive building in front of them.

"I guess we should walk along the outside and see if we can find anything," Troy said logically.

Together they walked along the base of the pyramid looking for anything they might be able to use.

The two of them had been searching for a while when Bri noticed something. She pointed it out to Troy who decided that they should get a closer look at whatever it was. Troy decided to communicate with the others to tell them that they might have found something. From the sound of the other groups nothing had been discovered yet.

sssss

On the bridge of the Argo Ares paced back and forth while waiting for anything to happen. He was not sure what they would encounter while they were stopped by the planet. He just did not want to chance anything just yet. Their mission had just started and he knew that the trip would not be smooth sailing. He just did not want trouble just yet.

The report then came in that Captain Troy and Lieutenant Bri had found something by the pyramid that they were looking at. Ares though that this was good news. Now if only they could find something that would help them find Earth and the thirteenth tribe.

Ares was already thinking about what to do if there was nothing on the planet. From what he had been told by Troy the thirteenth tribe had set out on a different path than the other twelve. That meant that they might have gone in the opposite direction then the other twelve.

Ares did realize that being just a little off course would mean that they could miss Earth by hundreds of light years depending on how far out the thirteenth tribe had traveled.

That also brought another thought to his mind. How long should they travel before turning around and come back. Would there be anything left to come back to. If they did would there be peace between the colonies and the Cylons or would one of the two have won the war. The questions were just too many for him to think about right now. He would cross that bridge when he got to it.

sssss

Troy and Bri walked towards what appeared to be an entrance in the pyramid. It actually stood out a bit from the rest of the pyramid. As they approached it they could hear over the intercom that another group had found something similar on another pyramid. It was looking like they would be able to find something out about this planet after all.

They reached what they hoped was an entrance. Glancing around they looked for a way to open the door. Troy looked at the side of the area for anything that might look like a key that would open the entrance. After a few moments Bri thought she had found something on her side.

Troy walked over to the spot and had to admit that it probably was the entrance key. There was a small indention in the panel. The shape was vaguely familiar to him as he looked at it. He then realized what it was.

Reaching up he pulled out a necklace that had a medallion on it that was shaped the same as the indentation. Bri watched as Troy placed the medallion in the indentation and the stones began to move. After a moment the stones had moved aside to reveal a tunnel that led into the pyramid.

"This is Captain Troy, we've found an entrance into the pyramid. We're going inside to see if we can find anything," Troy said to the others. They replied that they were still looking at their pyramids to see if they could get inside.

Troy grabbed a light as they began their decent into the pyramid. The air was stale inside the small corridor. He made his way down the corridor with Bri right behind him. They both wondered what they would find at the end of the corridor as they could not see anything just yet. The walls were bare of anything and Troy wondered where they were heading.

After a while of walking which Troy was now sure that they had walked though the Pyramid and were about to come out the other side the corridor turned almost completely around and descended down a long hallway. The two made their way down the slope carefully as the floor was covered in pebbles that threatened their traction. The last thing either of them wanted to do was slide down to the bottom. They finally reached the bottom and were about to continue down the corridor when Troy noticed another indentation on the wall.

"This looks familiar," he said to Bri who nodded her head in agreement.

Troy took out his medallion again. They had to spin around at the sound of movement behind them. The wall that had been behind them had risen up to reveal another room. Inside the room was a large tomb in the center of the room. The walls were lined with writings that Troy figured would take a while to decipher. Troy began to look around while Bri also glanced around at the wall. There was another light along the far wall which she lit to have more light in the room.

Together they looked over everything that was in the room. They had found out that the tomb was the resting place of the wife of the last ruler of Kobal. That had been exciting news to uncover. There were standing on the planet of their ancestors. The rest of the walls read like a book of the history of their rule. The planet had been dying due to several things. The thirteen tribes decided to leave the planet in search of a new beginning.

"Over here," Bri said excitedly. Troy walked over to see what she had found hoping that it was really something worth it. He glanced at what she was looking at and realized that she had found a big clue as to the departure of the thirteenth tribe. He did not have the knowledge to understand it though.

"This is Captain Troy come in," Troy said into his communicator waiting for a response. It took a few microns before someone replied.

"Have you found anything captain," came the voice of the scientist. From the sound of his voice Troy knew that they had not found anything at the other pyramids.

"We've found something inside the pyramid. Looks like it was the wife of the last ruler of Kobal," Troy replied listening to the excited sounds from the others. They said that they would be right there. Bri volunteered to lead them down to the room while Troy continued to search the room.

sssss

Ares listened to the report as they came in on the bridge of the Argo. They were waiting to see if the groups would find anything. So far is seemed like Troy and Bri were the most likely to find something. He listened as Troy's latest report came in from the communicator. He mentioned something about the last ruler's wife of Kobal.

The words stunned the bridge for a few microns as the words sunk in along with their meaning. Then a cheer rose up as people realized that they had found the planet Kobal. This is where everything had started from. This is where the thirteen tribes had left to go across the stars and make new homes.

The news was really a revelation for Ares. He had never put too much faith into the religions. He had assumed that the colonies had been a local colonization with the mention of Kobal and Earth as myths and legends that had been updated over time. Now he was wondering if the texts were based on some kernel of truth. The question now was would there be enough information to get a direction for the thirteenth tribe. Even then he realized that there were several factors that would factor into their finding Earth, if it existed.

They would have to account for the rotation of the galaxy as well. If they new where the thirteenth tribe had gone the scientist would be able to narrow down the possibilities and hopefully find the missing tribe.

"This is good news," Pratt said as he stood beside Ares.

"Yes it is," Ares replied. "We might also be on the watch for any religious complications that this might bring."

"Complications," Pratt asked now sure that he followed what Ares meant.

"Everyone believes in the story of Kobal a bit differently. They might take this as a sign that they're way is the right way. I just don't want any religious wars going on aboard my ship," Ares said.

"I see," Pratt replied. He had not fully understood what Ares meant until then. "We'll keep our eyes open."

sssss

Troy did not have to wait very long until the other four came into the room led by Bri. They also carried lit torches for light. The scientist quickly walked over to where Troy was standing looking at one of the walls.

"What have you found," he asked Troy.

"It seems to be an account of where the thirteenth tribe is going," Troy replied to him.

"Interesting," the man said peering at the writing on the wall as his assistant came over to help as well.

The three men seemed to look at the wall and talk it over among themselves leaving the other three warriors standing on the other side of the room. One of the men was tall and blonde the other had black hair and not quite as tall.

"What do you think," one of the men asked Bri as they looked at the wall.

"I don't know. I'm not much of an archeologist though," the man replied. "I know enough history to know what I believe."

"Really Martin," the other man said. "I thought you lived for this."

"Ha-ha," Martin replied. "Not really. I hope we find something though. It might make our trip quicker."

"True," the other man replied. "Do you think Earth really exists then?"

"Yes," a voice said from across the room. "It's mentioned right here," the man said pointing to a spot on the wall where a lot of writing was.

"Good, does it tell us how to get there," the dark haired man said.

"Or how long it will take," Martin asked.

"That is what we are working on right now," Troy said from where he was standing looking at the writings.

"Look here," the scientist said. "It says they took two ships, the Hermes and Celesta."

"That doesn't sound like a lot," Troy replied looking at the writings.

"No, probably only a couple of hundred people," the scientist replied.

"Seems like that they wanted to get away from everyone else. That would explain why they didn't settle near the other twelve," Troy said.

"Then how do we know they will even remember the other twelve colonies," Martin asked logically.

"We don't," the assistant replied for everyone. "There may not even be anyone left alive on Earth."

"That's comforting," Bri replied.

"I think we'll need the Argo's astrological charts to accurately predict where they went. It will be able to account for the movements of the stars. That and this information here should give us a good starting position," the scientist said.

"Good work Dr. Weaver," his assistant said.

Troy looked at the information and realized that Weaver was right in his speculation. The Argo would be able to give them a better direction of where the group went. The only problem was with the movement it would decrease the possibilities of missing Earth but a little bit.

"Let's head back to the Argo," Troy said. Everyone agreed and they began walking back to the shuttle. The sun was now overhead and the temperature had risen quite a bit making them all sweat before they got a little bit away from the pyramids.

"Yuck," Bri said as she walked. "I hate sweating like this, now I'll have to take a shower when we get back."

"Need any help," the dark haired warrior said with a waggle of his eyebrows.

"Ugh, no thanks Nall," Bri replied giving him a push.

"Ah, come on. I won't peak, much," he replied with a grin.

Bri rolled her eyes at Nall and continued to march off leaving the rest of the group behind a bit. Troy could only watch as Bri and Nall bantered back and forth. He was a bit jealous of the way the two of them seemed at ease with each other. He found Bri to be quite attractive and had hoped that maybe he might be able to gain her attention.

"Haven't you learned anything by now," Martin said to Nall.

"Nope," Nall replied as he quickened his pace to catch up with Bri.

"All right but when you're face down in the sand don't say I didn't warn you," Martin replied with a chuckle.

Troy and the other two looked at Martin hoping that he would tell them what was going on. Martin noticed that they were looking at him and knew that he would have to say something.

"We were all assigned to the Atlantia after training and Nall prides himself on being a ladies man. Bri was able to resist his charms and that was the beginning of the strangest friendship I've ever seen," Martin replied. "I know Bri isn't interested in him and he knows it. I guess that's why he is more obnoxious around her than others. It's almost like a comedy duo."

"I see," Troy said feeling better at this looking back ahead to see Bri plowing Nall face down in the sand with a smile on her face.

"I told you," Martin said as Nall stood up spitting sand out of his mouth and brushing it out of his mustache.

sssss

Ares waited as the shuttle landed on the landing bay of the Argo a bit impatiently. He wanted to know what they had found on the planet's surface, besides several large pyramids. He really hoped that they had found a direction to travel to see if this legendary planet really existed.

The door to the shuttle opened letting all six occupants out of the craft. He saw Troy was one of the first ones out of the shuttle and Ares could only hope that he had good news. He did not want to stay too close to the colonies in an effort to avoid any Cylon contact.

"Well," he asked when Troy got near enough for them to talk.

"We just night have found something commander," Troy replied with a smile. "It seems that the thirteenth tribe left Kobal in two ships, the Hermes and the Celesta."

"That is interesting news," Ares replied.

"There is more. It seems that the thirteenth tribe was a loner tribe. Not very big but basically kept to themselves. That is why they went a different direction than the other tribes," Troy told him.

"So," Ares said knowing that there was more to the story than just this.

"We are not sure how we will be received when we find them," Weaver said from behind Troy.

"I see, we could be attacked on sight then," Ares said watching as two heads nodded in agreement. "Well then, we'll meet that daggit when we get to it."

"Right," Weaver said agreeing with Ares. "First off we need to analyze the information that we received. Then we should have a pretty good idea as to where the thirteenth tribe went."

"All right, the sooner the better," Ares said. "The last thing we need is for Cylon intervention on this mission."

The group quickly split up and went on their way. Troy told the others that he was going to work with Weaver on the direction that the thirteenth tribe went.

"I'll see you later you three," Troy said giving Martin a slap on the back. He briefly stopped what he was doing to the point that everyone looked at him.

"You all right," Martin asked with a bit of concern.

"Yeah," Troy said shaking his head a bit. "I should get going if I'm going to catch up with the doctor there."

Ares watched Troy wondering what it was that had made him stop for such a moment. He wondered if Troy had seen something about this mission. He guessed that whatever it was he would not withhold it if it was important to the mission. He could only hope that Troy would tell him what happened before it was too late.

Weaver examined the text that they had very carefully. Using the Argo's navigation computers he set up what the universe would have looked like at about the time that the thirteenth tribe would have left Kobal. He noticed that the twelve colonies were a bit further apart at that time but had since drifted closer together.

sssss

"Any luck," Troy said as he walked into the lab. He saw that Weaver had already made the calculations of what the universe would have looked like so long ago.

"The computer just finished set up my parameters," Weaver said sitting down at a table.

Troy walked over and sat down as well as Weaver's assistant. The three of them worked over every possible angle that they might have to figure out where they might need to go. They worked for quite a while until they finally agreed on a general group of stars that the tribe would have gone to.

"All right, let's highlight these stars and move it ahead to today's positions," Weaver said.

After a few moments the universe was back to the present one. Looking at the way the stars lined up they were no longer in as straight a line but all in a general direction which was good for them. That meant that they would not be traveling all over the universe to get where they needed to go.

"Well this is probably some good news," the assistant said.

Troy nodded his head then suggested that they go and tell the commander what they had found. Weaver agreed and they left for the bridge of the Argo.

It did not take long for them to arrive on the bridge where Ares was waiting for them. He was quietly sitting down at his console reading the latest news from the colonies. It was the one thing that would happen. Regular transmissions were sent out in their direction with the hope that it would keep the crew of the Argo in touch with their homes. The only thing that they could not do would be replying to the messages.

Ares was glad to hear that nothing had happened lately on the war front. There seemed to be a small break in hostilities. It happened quite often and was usually a sign that something else was going to happen. It did not mean that no fighting was occurring but just that everything was small at the moment.

Ares looked up when he felt a presence on the bridge. He noticed that the scientist and Troy were making their way over to where he was. He hoped that they had found something that they would be able to use.

"Dr. Weaver, Troy, I hope that you have found a direction that we should head in," Ares said to the two men.

"I believe we have," Weaver replied bringing up the selected stars that the two of them had figured out to be the best bet where the thirteenth tribe had gone.

"Interesting," Ares replied a bit disappointed that there were so many stars to check out. He was hoping for few but decided not to argue.

"These are only a few of the stars, but we isolated the most promising ones," Weaver said.

"All right, and what do you think," Ares asked Troy. He was hoping that the man had some insight as to where to head.

"Nothing sir," Troy replied knowing what Ares was asking.

"What are you two talking about," Weaver asked a bit in the dark about what the two men were talking about.

Ares and Troy looked at each other a bit. Troy finally gave a small shake of his head and so did Ares. They were not going to tell everyone but if Troy worked with Weaver enough with this then the man should know.

"Well," Troy said his voice dropping to a whisper so others would not hear him. "My family has been bless, or cursed depending on how you look at it, with the ability to see images of what might be the future."

"What might be," Weaver asked not really sure he understood what Troy was saying.

"It's possible outcomes of the future. I have no way of knowing when they will occur or what will cause them. It grows stronger as we age. My father already knew what the mission was and gave me this," Troy said taking out the medallion from under his shirt. "It's been handed down through the generations saying it was important that it would be given to the first born male of the family. It was what allowed me into the pyramid. He told me that it would be needed on this mission to lead the way. I guess he knew."

"Well, whatever it was that he knew, whether it was a dream or not I did help us," Weaver said.

"I guess we should get going then. We have a lot of traveling to do in the next couple of yehrens," Ares said standing up. He walked over the helm officer and gave him the direction of the nearest star.

The Argo's engines powered up and they left at their normal cruising speed for the star and the beginning of their travels. They could only hope that Earth would not be that far away yet far enough to not have been bothered by the Cylons.

Continued in Beginning the Search


	3. Chapter 3: Beginning the Search

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Beginning the Search**

The battlestar Argo made its way to toward a single solar system. The scanners on the battlestar did not indicate that there was anything out of the ordinary. On the bridge of the ship Commander Ares watched the rest of the crew as they went about their duties. What they did here would indicate what procedures they would take at other systems.

"The scanner readings are clean. We're not picking anything up at all," Pratt said as he came up to where Commander Ares was sitting at his console.

"I see," Ares replied. He was still trying to come up with an idea that they could use as a general plan. "I think we should send a patrol group into the system for anything. Have them scan each planet for anything that might be signs of intelligent life."

"Of course sir, do you have anyone in mind for the patrol," Pratt asked wondering if he should just pull the duty roster or if Ares had a group in mind.

Ares rubbed his chin in thought as he gave it serious consideration of who to use. "Take six pilots of green squadron. Next time we'll take from red squad."

"Yes sir," Pratt replied then turned to look at who he should pull from green squad. He picked six names then went to brief them on their mission.

Ares watched as Pratt left the bridge to brief the pilots. He glanced back down at the scanners again hoping to find something out there. There was also the sense of excitement of the unknown. They could even encounter another race. That was something that he had to plan for as well. The last thing the Colonies needed was another enemy to contend with.

* * *

Martin walked into the briefing room where Colonel Pratt was standing waiting for all the pilots to arrive. They were going to be reaching their first planet soon which meant they would have to investigate the planet to see if it was Earth. Some hoped that this would be Earth but most did not believe that it would be.

Martin noticed that Bri and Nall were both already in the room. He would be working with them on this mission. Nall was again trying to pick up Bri who was again putting him down. It was actually quite funny to Martin. It seemed like Nall really did like Bri but he also knew that if Nall really wanted to woo Bri then he would have to change a bit for her. That was something that he did not see happening.

"Hey big M," Nall said as Martin sat down next to him.

"Hey Nall. If you don't watch yourself Bri will shrink your clothes again," Martin said.

"Nah, we don't have much in terms of replacement clothing," Nall replied.

"All right, I'll give you that. But remember she does have a wicked mind for paybacks," Martin said with a smile.

"I know," Nall replied also with a smile and received a smack to the back of his head. "What," he said turning and putting an innocent smile on his face for Bri.

"Don't what me," Bri said narrowing her eyes. "I know what you're thinking."

"All right, if we're done beating each other up can we get onto business," Pratt said seeing that the rest of the group had arrived. He sighed a bit as he realized that those three were going to give him fits.

Bri turned to the colonel and had a very innocent expression on her face that if he had not seen her smack Nall he would have been hard pressed to believe she was capable of violence. With a shake of his head he looked at the rest of the group. It was made up of green squadron. Troy, Nall, Martin, Nall and two others would make up the scouting mission.

"All right, now that I have your attention here is your mission," Pratt said. "We've made it to the first star. The Argo's scanners indicate twelve planets in the system. Your job is to investigate each planet and see if there are any life signs. Each of you will have a wing mate for this mission. Remember we do not know what we will encounter on this mission so everyone be careful. That and we are still not that far away from the Cylon Empire so keep you scanners open for any sign of them."

The group was dismissed from the briefing heading towards the launch bays. Pratt hoped that this mission went without any problems. There was enough that could go wrong and he hoped for a problem free mission for as long as possible. He did not believe that they would find anything on this patrol but anything was possible. He left the room for heading for the bridge to join Ares.

* * *

Troy made his way to his viper, with the rest of the group. He was the squad leader and realized that they should partner up now while they were all together.

"All right everyone find a partner. It will save time later," Troy said to the group.

"I'll be your wing mate," Bri said to Troy. She knew that both Nall and Martin were wing mates and would choice each other. She did not really know the other two and had decided to partner with Troy.

Troy looked at the others who seemed to have already paired off as well. That was easier than he thought. He was sure that Nall or Martin would have wanted Bri as a partner. He was beginning to see a bit more into the relationship between the three. There was a respect for each other as warriors as well as friends.

"All right if we're ready let's get to the vipers and get this mission rolling," Troy said.

"Right," Bri replied as she went over to her viper. Troy had to turn away from watching her bounce over to her viper before he bumped into something.

Troy cleared his mind as he walked over to his viper and climbed up into it. The viper crew chief handing him his helmet which he put on then radioed command that he was ready to receive the coordinates for the patrol.

Nall and Martin watched as Bri took off to her viper in her bouncy type way. Martin gave Nall a quick jab in the ribs and nodded his head in the direction of their captain. Nall looked over at Troy then back at Bri and smiled back at Martin.

"I see another one is falling to her charms," Nall said.

"Yep," Martin said. "And I think half the time she isn't aware of it at all."

Nall studied Bri for a second before replying. "No, I think this time she knows what she just did."

Martin raised an eyebrow at Nall's comments but said nothing. He wondered if this would affect their friendship at all. He would keep an eye on Nall and see how he took the oblivious flirting by Bri to another man.

He reached his viper and climbed aboard. The canopy closed as he put on his helmet. The coordinates for his patrol was transferred to his viper and was given permission to launch. He pushed the turbo button and felt the acceleration of the viper as he was launched into space.

* * *

Ares watched as the flight controller, Renee, gave the instructions for the patrol. She was a confident controller and he was glad that she was on this mission. He could hear her tell the pilots that the transfer was complete and that they could launch when ready.

He turned to view the monitors and watched as the six vipers launched out of the tubes. They would know soon if there was anything in the system worth investigating. Aries was not sure if he wanted to find Earth so soon or not. It was a bit too close to the Cylons Empire for him.

"Well, there they go," Pratt said as he stood next to Ares.

"Right," Ares replied. He wished that the texts that they had found on Kobal had described how far the thirteenth tribe was going to travel instead of just a direction. He figured that he should be grateful that he had that though. He had the feeling that this would be a long mission.

"Is it wrong of me to wish that they don't find anything," Pratt said turning to Ares.

"Nope, I was just thinking the same thing my friend," Ares replied. "But I did have another thought earlier."

Pratt turned to glance at his commander. Usually when his commander said something like that it meant trouble. He wondered what the man was thinking this time.

"We needed to brief the pilots in first contact rules," Ares said.

"First contact," Pratt replied not sure where that came from. Sure they would need it for when they found Earth but then it hit him. They were exploring a section of unknown space. They could come across an unknown alien race. That would require something else as well, the skills of a diplomat. That also meant that they might have to take time to make diplomatic relations with another race.

"Yeah, I'm sure that we'll encounter another race before we finally reach Earth. There are too many unknowns out there for us not to. It will be what happens when we do. We both know that the last thing the Colonies need is another enemy to fight," Ares said to Pratt.

"That would not be good," Pratt replied. The Colonial military was barely able to hold off the Cylons right now. If there was another group it might spell the doom of the Colonies.

* * *

Troy paired up with Bri and together they left for the four planets that they would be exploring. They had the inner planets. Most of them appeared to be a bit small with only a few moons. He did not expect to see any life signs on the first couple of planets. They were just way too close to the star to be able to support any life that they know about.

"Let's head to the one closest to the star first," Troy heard Bri say over the communicator.

"Right, that way we can limit our own exposure to the heat," Troy replied. He was keeping an eye on his thermal reading as they got closer to the star.

"Troy, I'm picking up another planet even closer to the star," Bri said as they got closer to the star.

Troy took a quick glance at his scanner and noticed the same thing. The thermal reading was still below critical and he wondered how close they would be able to go.

"I'm going to see how close we can get. Stay back just in case," Troy said as his viper turned toward the planet.

Bri wanted to protest but ended up saying nothing. She kept a close eye on her scanner as she watched him head closer to the planet. She knew that they vipers could get close to stars but no one had ever really tried to get real close.

Troy kept a close eye on his thermal readings just in case. His biggest concern was his fuel. If that got too hot it could explode. The scans of the planet indicated that it was a barren rock. There were no buildings or anything else that the scanners could pick up and with the thermal reading approaching a critical point Troy decided to head back away from the star.

"Find anything," Bri asked watching as his viper came back to where she was.

"Nope, just a dead planet. Didn't think we'd find anything but you never know," Troy replied as he joined back up with Bri. The thermal reading slowly came down a bit and he knew that he was no longer in danger.

The next two planets were also barren. Their surfaces were scarred from the intense solar winds and asteroids that bombarded it. If there had ever been anything on the surface it had vanished a long time ago.

They approached the next planet while reporting what they had found on the last planet. The other two groups had not found anything either. So far three gas giants, several ice moons and one ice planet had been scanned. There was nothing to indicate that any of the planets had any life on it.

Troy then noticed that the next planet had what appeared to be building on it. The scanners did not indicate any life forms but there was definitely something down there.

"Bri, are you reading the same thing I am," Troy replied.

"My scanners are picking up ruins on the planet's surface," Bri replied hoping that it was what Troy was talking about.

"That's what I'm reading as well," Troy replied. "Scout party one to Argo."

"Argo here what did you find," the voice of Renee replied.

"We're going to investigate some ruins on the third planet of the system," Troy told them. "We'll keep in constant contact."

"Understood patrol one," Renee said.

Troy and Bri piloted their vipers towards the surface of the planet. They headed right for one of the ruins and looked for a landing spot as close as possible. They were looking for a clue as to who might have once lived here. The one thing that went through Troy's mind was it was Earth. He just hoped that was wrong.

"Atmosphere is breathable," Bri said as her scanners tested the air to make sure that they did not need any special equipment to breathe with.

"And gravity is about the same," Troy said.

They landed their vipers near one of the ruined buildings. It was beginning to fall apart and both wondered at the structural integrity of the building. Troy was actually a bit reluctant to even try and enter the building. It looked like it might collapse at any moment.

"I think one of us should try and enter the building," Bri said.

"I don't," Troy stated as he looked at the building. He wondered what had kept it up for so long.

"We landed on the planet to find out who built these buildings. We'll never know if we don't investigate it," Bri replied turning to face Troy.

"And the building would come down around anyone who tried to enter it," Troy replied.

"I'll go, if something happens you can rescue me," Bri said with a smile which Troy did not really appreciate.

"That is not funny," Troy replied. "You could be hurt, or worse."

"Didn't know you cared," Bri said as she took a few steps towards the building. "Wait here, I'll be right back."

Troy stood there wondering what had just happened as he watched Bri walk towards the building then disappear inside. He finally shook himself out of his stupor to realize what she had just done.

"Bri," he said into his communicator. When she did not answer right away he repeated her name a bit louder.

"Shh," he heard Bri's hushed reply. "The sound echoes quite well in here. I'm just going to try and be cautious."

"Right, sorry," Troy replied and realized that he had to wait until she returned.

* * *

Bri walked quietly around what appeared to furniture. It did not look quite like anything she had ever seen. That and it did not look like it was something that was comfortable to a human. That led her to believe that this planet was inhabited by a race other than humans.

She was looking for something that might contain a record of who there people were and what had happened to them. She was pretty sure that they were not human but she wanted proof. Gently making her way around the large room she could hear the creaking of the floor as she put weight on it. It probably had not supported anything but itself for hundreds of yehrens. A fine cover of dust blanketed everything giving it all the same color look.

Bri noticed one object and gently picked it up to inspect it. It looked like a strange flat object. She blew the dust off it to see what the color really might be. It turned out to be a black color. The one thought that she had was for it to be a very thin screen. That was ridiculous though. She was sure that such a thing was technically impossible. However she almost dropped it when it suddenly came to life.

Bri watched intrigued when an image sprang from the flat thing. It appeared to be a hologram. That was something that she had read about in science fiction novels and entertainment shows. However the scientists of the colonies were too involved in the war against the Cylons to develop such a thing. That and she was sure that it would have taken a much bigger device to use.

Taking a look at what had appeared it was apparent that the inhabitants were not human. The figure that she could see had four arms and was not humanoid at all. The figure also had four legs which accounted for the unusual furniture that she saw. Taking the 'thing' she quickly and as carefully as she could make her way out of the building. The creaking and groaning of the floor did make her a bit anxious but she finally emerged from the building.

"Find anything," Troy's voice said and Bri was sure that she heard a bit of concern in the voice.

"This," Bri said with a smile holding up the flat black object that she had found.

"What is that," Troy asked not sure what it was.

"Don't know, some sort of holographic display I think," Bri replied handing it to Troy.

Troy gently inspected the object. It was a rectangular black object that looked like it had a screen on it. There was something that looked like a button which he pressed. Again Bri watched as the strange figure appeared.

"Well that's not human," Troy said handing it back to Bri. "It should be enough evidence that this is not Earth."

"I would hope so. That and all the furniture in the building would not have been human friendly," Bri said.

"Then I guess we can head back to the Argo," Troy said as they turned to head back to their vipers.

Bri carefully stored the object in the viper before closing the canopy. The two of them then lifted off from the planet and headed to the last planet on their list. It turned out to barren as well. There was little else in the system as they headed back to the battlestar for debriefing.

* * *

Commander Ares waited on the bridge of the battlestar waiting to hear from the patrols. He had learned that there was one planet had the remains of building on it. There was little else that he had heard yet.

The last report had the patrol inbound from the system with the results of their scans. The initial result was there was no life in the system nor was there anyone left. There was only the one planet that seemed to have had at one time supported life in the system.

Captain Troy and Lieutenant Bri had been the ones to land on the planet's surface. Ares would have to wait until they came out of detox to see what they had found. There was also an object that was found that they had brought back. It too was undergoing detox just to be on the safe side.

"Commander, Troy and Bri are waiting for you in the debrief room," Pratt said bringing Ares out of his thinking.

"Tell them I'll be right there," Ares replied to Pratt. "You have the bridge."

"Yes sir," Pratt replied as Ares walked off the bridge heading for the pilot's briefing room.

Ares walked into the room a short while later seeing all six pilots that had gone of the patrol there along with Doctor Weaver. On the table was a flat black rectangular object that he had never seen before. He was sure that it was the object that had been found on the planet's surface.

"Let's begin," Ares said as he stood in front of the room.

"Well sir, according to Nall and Trevor the planets that they scanned uncovered nothing important. None of the moons were capable of supporting life either. Most of the planets they scanned were gas giants. Their moons were ice worlds with no major thermal readings," Troy said addressing the commander for the group.

"I see, what else," Ares said knowing that they had found something.

"My patrols found out there was another planet close to the sun that was obscured by our scanners. It had nothing on it," Troy said.

"So there were thirteen planets," Ares said.

"Right," Troy replied. "We scanned the next to with nothing on it. The third uncovered the remains of buildings on it."

"Interesting," Ares said picking up the object. "I suppose that it was there that you found this?"

"Correct sir," Troy said. "We landed close to a group of buildings. I thought that the buildings were too unstable to enter but Lieutenant Bri had other ideas."

Ares turned his eyes to Bri to see her reaction. She just shrugged a bit and continued to look at him with what he was sure was her innocent look.

"I figured that one of us had to go in, and I was the lighter of the two of us, it was a logical choice," she said with a shrug of her shoulders.

"All right, I'll ask it slide this time," Ares said looking at Bri. "But next time, radio it in and we'll send a team over with special equipment."

"Sure," Bri replied with a smile on her face. It made a person forget why they were mad at her. He would have to watch her otherwise she would get away with just about anything with that look.

"Now, seeing how you went in anyways what did you find," Ares asked moving on to the next part.

"Well, everything was covered with dust. By the amount of dust it looked like it had been there for quite a while. Gave everything the same color," Bri replied. "The furniture, though someone decayed, was not recognizable as anything that we might use. Then I found that," she said pointing to the object that Ares held in his hand.

"All right, what is it," Ares asked.

"We believe it is a holographic device," Weaver replied coming into the talk. He had been able to study the object for a few moments before the briefing had been called.

"A holographic device," Ares said a bit doubtingly.

"Yes, the technology that it represents is quite ingenious if I may say so. Whoever they were they were thousands of years more advanced then we are right now," Weaver said. "The power supply is not even recognizable."

"All right," Ares said. "Any idea what it might have been used for?"

"I believe that it was their equivalent of a picture," Weaver said getting up and taking the object. "Observe," he said pressing the button where the alien figure appeared. "There might be more 'pictures' in it but we haven't been able to study it very long."

"That isn't human," Ares said as he stared at the figure in front of him. If you took away two arms and legs then it might had a humanoid look, somewhat. "Did you find anything else," he asked Bri.

"I didn't think it was wise to stay in building too long, not with the floor creaking under me," Bri replied. She had felt a thrill when she was in the building yet it scared her at the same time. She knew that if the opportunity came up again she would do it again.

"As long as you got back in one piece. Good work everyone," Ares said. The question had been answered. This was not Earth, or even a human colony. He made his way back up to the bridge to tell the helm officer to set course to the next system in the list. Their search would continue.

Continued in Ambush Squared


	4. Chapter 4: Ambushed Squared

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Ambushed Squared**

Bri made her way down the corridor to where the computer room was. It was there that the crew could read about what was going on with the colonies. The last thing that she had heard was the Delphians were going to war against the Cylons. That would help out the colonies as it might split off some of the Cylon forces and allow the Colonies to rebuild the fleet a bit. She had heard of a rumor that the Battlestar Pegasus was going to be the center of a new battle fleet. That would be exciting, especially if they were led by Commander Cain.

Entering the room she noticed that Troy was there reading something on his screen. She took a seat next to him hoping that he would notice her. When he did not she wondered what had his attention.

Brining up the main screen she tried to act like she was looking at her own screen without anyone knowing that she was really trying to figure out what Troy was reading. After navigating several screen she thought she finally had what he was reading. It was an article about ancient Kobal and the thirteenth tribe, or at least that is what she thought she was reading.

Bri scanned down the article until she came to the part where it described what type of system the tribe had settled in. There were eight or nine planets; it depended on what one considered a planet. Earth was the third planet from the local sun. It also had four gas giants with the furthest planet which was a small planet. That was the one that seemed to be in doubt. Bri wondered how small the planet really was.

"Hey Bri, I didn't notice you come in," she heard Troy's voice say. She looked up to see Troy was now looking at her.

Now that she had his attention she was not sure what to say. She had been a bit disappointed when he did not notice at first but now she felt a bit uncomfortable.

"Yeah, you looked like you were pretty engrossed in your reading," Bri said as she quickly changed her screen to another article.

"Yeah, when I get involved in articles about Earth I seem to forget where I am sometimes," Troy replied not sure if he should comment about the article that Bri had up on her screen or not.

"Yeah, well that can happen. Happens to me all the time," Bri replied with a smile.

"Really, even that one," Troy said with a nod of his head to her screen.

"Huh," Bri replied then looked at her screen. In her haste to change the article she had not seen where she was going. Now she wanted to somehow disappear from the room, either that or start over. "That, well I ah, well it's like this I wanted some information, well," Bri mumbled as she looked at the screen. There in front of her was an article with Troy's picture at the top. "I was curious all right," she finally said.

"You could have just asked me," Troy said as wondered about why Bri was at that article. It was one that he had written about a yehren ago about the lost thirteenth tribe for one of his old professors at school.

"Well yeah, but you seemed to be into your reading and I didn't want to disturb you," Bri replied.

"It's no problem, disturb me anytime," Troy said with a smile. Then exiting out of the article he was reading he got up. "Well, it about time for the briefing."

Bri glanced at the clock and realized it was about time for their patrol. "Right," she said also exiting her article then quickly walked out of the room. Troy watched her actions with a bit of interest. Perhaps she did like him after all.

* * *

Colonel Pratt waited again in the briefing room. This one was only a simple patrol to a system that had only two planets. The Argo's scanners had not detected any movement from the inside of the system of ships or anything like that. Commander Ares wanted to make sure that the scanners were not wrong about anything.

He watched as the patrol came into the room. This one would be manned by Captain Troy and Lieutenant Bri. So far he had watched them closely. They had been getting along quite well lately. He had a feeling that they liked each other. That also meant that he would have to keep an eye on them as well for any signs of trouble.

The one thing that Pratt did not want was a lover's quarrel. That would disrupt the workings of the ship too much and it was his duty to make sure that everything worked.

"All right we'll get down to business," Pratt said. "We have just approached the second system on our journey. It should be a short patrol as the scanners have not picked up anything in the area. We do not expect you to find anything here either."

"Is there anything else colonel," Troy asked hoping that the mission sounded as straightforward as it sounded.

"Nope, just be careful as always otherwise good luck," Pratt said with a nod of his head. Bri and Troy got up and walked out heading to the alpha launch bay.

Troy made his way to the launch bay only to be intercepted by Nall and Martin. The two of them were standing in the launch bay.

"Hey, we heard that we weren't going to be there to watch your backs, so be careful," Nall said to the two of them.

"Didn't know you cared," Bri said with a teasing smile on her face.

"Always my dear," Nall replied then turned serious. "If you run into any trouble do hesitate to call."

"We won't Nall," Troy replied.

"Then I'll see you later at dinner time," Martin said giving Troy a clap on the back.

"Right," Troy said slowly. He shook his head to clear what he had just seen. It was the second time that he had seen that vision.

"You all right," Bri asked seeing the look on Troy's face.

"Yeah, we should get going," Troy replied saying another good-bye to the two men. He walked over to his viper and climbed on board.

He gave Bri a thumbs up as he listened to Renee transfer the coordinates to the viper. He was feeling quite uneasy right now about this mission. There was an underlying current that he could feel about this mission. It was almost as if something was waiting for him out there.

He finally acknowledged the transfer and that he had control of the launch. He pushed the turbo button and within a few seconds was out in open space. Bri joined him a moment later beside him.

"Well, let's get this one over with," he said. He wanted it to be over that was for sure.

The trip to the system was quite uneventful and they began to scan the planets. They went to the furthest planet first. It was a giant gas planet. One of the largest they had ever seen. The three moons were all good size but did not have anything that contained life. The atmosphere was very deadly to any known living organisms.

The two of them then approached the second planet. Troy noticed his nervousness was creeping up again as they approached the planet. He was always one to take heed of his gut feelings and he had the feeling like something was wrong.

"Bri, stay back at the gas giant," Troy said to her. "There's something wrong here."

"Then perhaps we should both go," Bri replied.

"No, let's minimize the risk," Troy replied. "And be prepared to head out as soon as possible."

Bri was not sure what to make of Troy's request. Her scanners showed nothing in the area that would be a cause of concern. She decided that they would talk about it later and turned around for the larger gas planet. It was from here that she watched as Troy made his way carefully towards the other planet.

Troy was real nervous about approaching the planet. There was something about it that made him weary. He kept on eye on his scanner and the other on the planet. It was just before he approached the planet that he saw what it was he was looking for. Just coming up from the planet was something that he did not want to see.

"Get out of here, hit your turbos now," Troy said as he quickly turned around. "We have Cylons."

Bri heard that last part and quickly accelerated away from the system and towards the Argo. She was not sure that she liked the idea of Cylons in the area. Checking her scanner for any sign of pursuit she was glad when she did not see anything behind her or Troy.

* * *

"Commander to the bridge," Ares heard the call. He got up from his bed and quickly walked over to the intercom.

"What's going on colonel," Ares asked hoping that it was not anything important. He knew that a mission to the system was underway but that it would not be Earth. According to the legends there were too few planets in the system.

"The patrol picked up something and are coming in hot," Pratt replied over the intercom.

That had Ares wondering what would have had two experienced pilots running back to the battlestar under full turbos. Whatever it was it just did not sound good to him.

"I'll be right there," Ares said quickly pulling on his uniform and headed to the bridge.

There were several things that he could think about as he walked to the bridge. The one thing that he thought of was they had found some intelligent life forms on one of the planets. Entering the bridge he was astonished by the amount of activity that was going on. People were bustling around quickly doing their jobs.

"Pratt, what's going on," Ares asked quickly walking up to where Pratt was standing near the command center of the bridge.

"Our patrol ran into Cylons," Pratt replied.

"Cylons, here," Ares said not liking what he had just heard. "All right, keep the long range scans on the system. I want to know about everything that comes into and out of that system. I also want to meet with the patrol and see what happened."

"Yes sir," Pratt replied. "So far there has been no movement from the system to indicate that they had been seen."

"Good, that means either they didn't see the patrol or they are massing for an attack," Ares said. "Put the ship on yellow alert. I want red squad ready to launch on a microns notice."

People went about their jobs making sure that everything was ready just in case. People were nervous about an impending attack by the Cylons that everyone hoped would not happen.

"Sir, Captain Troy and Lieutenant Bri are waiting for you in the briefing room," Pratt said watching as Ares nodded and walked off the bridge for the room.

Ares quickly walked down to the elevator to take him to the mission briefing room. His mind swirled around with the implementations of having Cylons in the area. It was a bit disturbing to him as well. They really needed to figure out what they were doing our here so far away. The other thing that he was aware of was the fact that they had to avoid capture. If the Cylons found out about this mission then everything might be in danger.

Troy and Bri were waiting in the room for him. Usually there would be nothing much to talk about. He would inform fleet command about what had happened and they would make the decision of what to do. This time he was in charge and had to figure out what they had to do.

"I hope that you have some more news for me then you found a group of Cylons," Ares asked the two.

"The Cylons are orbiting the first planet in the system. From what I saw there was at least one Cylon basestar along with some sort of platform," Troy said recalling what his scanners had picked up. "I don't think that we were detected leaving the system."

"I don't think so. If they had then we would have seen a patrol or an attack wave already," Ares replied calmly. "Now the question is what do we do about it?"

"We could warn the fleet," Troy replied seriously. "They would be able to send in a couple of ships and wipe it out."

"Yes, but we are ordered to maintain radio silence," Ares replied. "That and we do not know exactly what we are up against just yet either."

Ares rubbed his chin in thought as he pondered a few options that they had. The easiest course of action was to warn fleet command. That however brought up the problem that the signal could be intercepted by a Cylon listening station. That would mean questions on the Cylon side as to why a ship was so far out here.

A second thought was that he still needed more information about what was here. Even if he decided to warn fleet command he would have to have information about strength of the Cylon position. That still led him to the question as to why it was here. What were the Cylons doing?

"Was there any indication of what the station was for," Ares asked Troy and Bri. He was looking for more information.

"I didn't get a good scan on it," Troy replied. "That and I left Bri at the other planet."

"Yeah, I just wish you had mentioned something about Cylons though," Bri said with a look at Troy.

"Hey, at the time I didn't know," Troy replied honestly. "I just had a feeling that something was wrong."

"I know the feeling," Ares said. He had been in combat before when he had a strange gut feeling. He had learned to listen to such feelings when he got them. "Did you see anything on your scanners?"

"Nope, I was hidden behind the other planet," Bri replied. "The only thing I saw was Troy getting out of there like a daggit on a hot roof."

"All right, assemble the squads for a briefing," Ares said then left the room to head back to the bridge. He wanted to make sure that nothing else had happened. This was definitely going to be a sticky situation.

* * *

Troy watched the commander leave the room and wondered what was going though his mind. He had a small feeling that he knew what was going to happen. He walked out of the room on his way to the pilot's quarters to find red squad leader with Bri right behind him.

"What do you think is going to happen," Bri asked as she drew even with Troy.

"I'm not really sure just yet. Probably wants our opinion about what to do," Troy replied. "I think that he'll ask for a new patrol for more information. Right now all we know is that there is at least one basestar orbiting the planet, perhaps more. That and what type of station is nearby as well, is it a combat station, or other type."

"Well, that clears things up a bit more. The only question is how will they be able to get close enough to scan the Cylons without getting caught," Bri asked.

"That I don't know," Troy replied honestly as they entered the pilot's room. He glanced around and finally saw Gunther the leader of red squad.

"Hey, Gunther," Troy said walking up to the man.

"Troy, tell me you know what is going on. We're hearing all types of rumors from Earth to Cylons," Gunther said as he approached Troy.

"It's Cylons," Troy replied. "I ran into a basestar and some sort of station while on patrol of the system."

"The Cylons, what are they doing out here. Seems a bit strange if you ask me," Gunther said musing this over as well.

"Yeah, Commander Ares is asking for a meeting of all available pilots," Troy said.

"When," Gunther asked.

"As soon as we can all get together," Troy replied to him.

"Then we'll be right there," Gunther said turning to his squadron. "Listen up," he said gaining everyone's attention. "Everyone in the briefing room now. We have a situation going on."

Troy walked out of the room to head to his own squads barracks. They would also have to be in the meeting as he did not know what Ares had in mind. There were several ideas and the most probable was a patrol back to the planet.

Walking into the room he noticed that most of the squad was sitting around waiting for whatever to happen. Nall and Martin noticed him walk in and got right up.

"What's the commander say," Nall asked. He had already heard about the Cylons and had already informed the rest of the squad. Now they were just waiting around to see what the next step was.

"He wants a briefing with all pilots. I'm not really sure what he'll say to do, probably another patrol," Troy replied.

"Perhaps we should get back and find out," Martin replied.

Green squad got up and walked out towards the briefing room to see what the commander had decided. There was no panic in their steps just a determined mind set of whatever needed to be done they could do.

* * *

Ares stepped back on the bridge to gain the latest information about the system. He walked over to where Pratt was sitting listening to the reports as they came in to the bridge.

"Anything changed," Ares asked watching as Pratt replied that there was not. "I'm sending in another patrol. We need to know what type of Cylons forces are there."

"Understood commander," Pratt replied. It was something that he had already figured would happen. It was the next part that had him worried. There were a lot of different scenarios that went though his head. It all depended on what type of forces the Cylons had orbiting the planet.

"Keep us at a distance for right now. I don't really want them knowing that we are there just yet," Ares said. "And keep an eye out for any other movement from the nearby systems."

"Yes sir," Pratt said as Ares again left the bridge to his command.

Ares went back down to the mission room where he found almost both squadrons there. There were a few people missing but that was probably due to the fact that they were on combat patrol right now. The extra pilots were also in the room waiting to see what was going on.

"Our last patrol encountered a Cylon base of sorts. We're not sure what it is just yet, but it doesn't look good. The fact that it's all the way out here means that it's probably going to be used to attack the Colonies," Ares said having given it much thought.

"But that would mean the defenses would be looking the wrong way," one person replied.

"Right, and by the time the fleet could arrive to help out it would be too late," Ares said. "The more I think about it the more I'm sure that this base is designed to attack the Colonies."

"And the fleet probably would not be able to help due to a Cylon frontal assault," Nall said as he thought about it.

"Right, this is why I believe that we need to destroy it as soon as possible. But first we need to know what type of forces we are going to be up against," Ares told them. "For that I need a couple of volunteers to take a patrol into the system. Using the gas giant they will approach the planet when the Cylons are on the other side of the target planet. They will then land on the planet and observe the Cylons as they pass overhead. Then they will have to carefully return back to the Argo safely with the information. Any volunteers?"

The group of pilots digested the information that Ares had just given them. It was a daunting task that had been put before them yet was very much needed. A couple of red squad pilots stepped forward to take the mission. So far red squad had not had much action yet but that was about to change.

Troy wanted to volunteer but knew that Ares would want him to rest a bit longer. The commander did not like to send people out on patrols right after they had just been on one. Ares believed in giving his crew rest time to keep them at the top of their job and to avoid burnout and mistakes.

"Very well, report to you vipers when you are ready. Everyone else is dismissed unless you're on ready combat alert," Ares said then walked out of the room.

The two pilots were wished good luck by everyone on the mission and to return safely. The one thing that was on everyone's mind was what would they find and what would be the next course of action.

* * *

Ares watched on the bridge as Renee gave the permission for the scouting team to launch. So far there had been no movement from the system which meant that they had not been discovered yet. That had him worried as well. Why had the Cylons not seen the first patrol when they left the system? What was going on there?

On the monitors of the bridge Ares saw as the two vipers made their launch. The scanners indicating that they were moving towards the target system. They would learn soon enough what forces the Cylons had there.

Ares was already thinking of different tactics to use against the Cylons. It was a dangerous situation that they had found themselves in. He really thought that it was a slow buildup by the Cylons for an attack against the Colonies. It would be easy to do. The Cylon fleet provides a distraction then this group attacks. Then a different idea came to him. What if this group was the distraction? It would draw a major part of the battle fleet's attention away from the Cylon boarder that it might allow an attack to surprise the fleet thereby destroying it.

"Anything wrong commander," Pratt asked seeing Ares rub his eyes.

"Yeah, I think it doesn't matter what we find there anymore," Ares replied not really answering Pratt's question.

"What do you mean," Pratt probed wanting to know what was going on.

"It will be up to us to destroy them here and now," Ares replied. "It is an ambush squadron. I'm also thinking that it's more of the diversion then a major attack force."

"Diversion," Pratt repeated not sure that he followed what Ares was thinking.

"Yes, this Cylon force here is part of a group that will probably attack the Colonies, diverting and drawing the battle fleet attention away from a real threat," Ares said.

"By the lords of Kobal," Pratt replied gaining the true measure of what could happen. "They would be caught in an ambush. If they were destroyed then the defenses of the Colonies would not be able to defend themselves against the entire might of the Cylon Empire."

"No, which is why we must destroy them here and now," Ares replied. "There might not be time to warn fleet command either."

"Then what about our mission," Pratt asked.

"If we survive, we'll continue on our way," Ares replied logically. "It depends on the damage."

Pratt nodded his head in agreement. This was a situation that he had not envisioned when he signed on. He had visions of encountering strange new alien civilizations and perhaps finding Earth on day.

Now the only thing left to do was wait until the report came back from the scouting team. That would tell them what they would be up against when they finally attacked.

Continued in Goodbye Friend


	5. Chapter 5: Goodbye Friend

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Goodbye Friend**

Martin and Nall sat at the table waiting to see what would happen next. They had been talking about the Colonies and what they would miss and what they would not miss while they were on this mission. There was also a group of odds on a far board as to if they would ever find Earth and when. So far most people figured that they would never find Earth. The odds just seemed too great for people to believe.

"What will you miss," Nall asked Martin.

"Jesse," Martin replied referring to previous girlfriend. Nall shook his head in disbelief.

"Martin, she dumped you ten boyfriends ago," Nall said. "She goes through them faster than I do girlfriends."

"But she was special," Martin replied not really budging. He knew that she would never get back with him but a man could dream.

"I even heard she had a few girlfriends as well," Martin said. "I don't think she knows what she likes."

"I liked her. She even told me that the time we spent together was some of her best memories," Martin replied.

"Then why did the blonde ditz ditch you," Nall said. He had never liked Jesse. Unlike him he never said that any of his relationships with a girl were for long term and made sure that they knew that as well. A few tried to make it long term but it was not his style. They had been upset and even angry with him but they moved on. Jesse however said that she was looking for a long term relationship. Her relationship with Martin lasted less than half a yehren.

"Hey," Bri said as she and Troy sat down next to them. "So whatcha talking about?"

"Jesse," Nall said with a roll of his eyes.

"Oh, that ditz," Bri replied. "You're better than her Martin."

"You keep saying that, maybe someday I'll believe it," Martin said. "But the blonde hair, gorgeous body."

"Don't need that info," Bri said holding up a hand.

"I got info," Nall said waggling his eyebrows.

"Way too much info," Bri replied burying her head into her hands. "I should have stayed in the cafeteria."

"Finger foods," Nall said with a grin. Martin started to laugh who was joined by Troy when Nall found himself on the floor having been pushed off by Bri.

"I'm surrounded by perverts," she said closing her eyes.

"Not our fault that you're still pure," Nall said from the floor. That earned a raised eyebrow from Troy who watched as Bri blushed red.

That was unexpected to Troy who figured that with the company that Bri kept she would be different somehow, he was not sure why though.

"God kill me now," Bri groaned then glanced over at Nall who was getting back into his chair.

"We love ya anyways though," Nall said with a smile. He knew that he had ruffled her a bit and that he would probably pay for it later, but the look on her face at that moment had been priceless.

* * *

Ares leaned back in the command chair. So far there had been nothing from the scouting party. That both worried him and relieved him. He knew that it would take time to gather the information properly but he was also ready for action.

"Commander, we have the scout ships approaching," Renee said not looking up from her screen. She was looking to make sure that there was no other movement from the system.

"Have the pilots meet me in the debriefing room as soon as they detox," Ares replied. He wanted to know what they were going to be up against right away.

"Yes sir," Pratt replied.

Ares did not have to wait long until the two pilots entered the room. They did not have the attitude that they were going to be up against far superior numbers but he would wait to see what they had.

"Lieutenant Lycieus and Hearld," Ares said as the two men sat down at the table. "What did you find?"

"We took several scans to make sure and to time their orbits," Hearld replied. "It appears that there is one basestar and only one station."

That made Ares feel a bit better. They would be able to dictate the term of the battle a bit better now, that and the Argo would not be facing more than one basestar.

"What about the station, what was it," Ares asked.

"It was an unknown configuration. The warbook was not able to identify it," Lycieus said. "Here is what it looks like."

An image of the station came up on the screen. Ares had to admit that it was not like anything he had seen before either. That could be an unknown element. The more he stared at the station however the more it looked vaguely familiar.

"Does it look familiar to you at all," Ares asked the two men.

Both of the men looked at the station trying to figure out what their commander was talking about. It took a few minutes but Hearld finally said that something did look familiar to him.

"This area right here," Hearld said pointing out a part of the station.

Ares looked at it for a few seconds before realizing what it was. He looked at the other parts of the station to confirm his suspicions.

"This is a combo base," Ares finally said. "This part here and here are from a combat base."

"Yes, and this is a part of a factory base," Lycieus said pointing to another part.

"That's why the scanners couldn't identify it," Hearld said.

"Judging by the looks of the station it probably holds only about fifty to a hundred additional fighters plus the three hundred that the basestar carries," Ares said calculation the best plan of attack. "Were there any patrols on the surface of the planet?'

"We didn't see any, nor did we observe any patrols coming out from the basestar," Hearld replied.

"Good, I have an idea," Ares said. "Have all pilots report to the mission room immediately. We need to put the plan in action right now."

"Yes sir," Pratt replied then walked off the bridge to inform the pilots.

* * *

Troy was sitting at the table watching the banter between Nall and Bri wondering how they kept it up. Taking a glance at Martin he noticed that he seemed to find all of this funny. They had currently moved away from Bri being the topic to Nall being the center of attention. Troy believed that the man enjoyed being the center of attention even if he was being the brunt of all the jokes.

Troy noticed Colonel Pratt walk into the room and realized that they would be finding out what the next mission was going to be. He had heard that the two pilots from red squad had landed and were debriefing the commander. Now it appeared that that debriefing was over and now they work on the next part.

"Commander Ares had requested that your squad report to the briefing room right away," Pratt said to Troy who nodded his head as Pratt went in search of Gunther to tell him the news as well.

"Everyone report to the briefing room now," Troy said standing up to make the announcement. When the colonel had walked into the room everything had gone silent waiting to see what he had said to Troy. Now everyone moved quickly out to the room.

It did not take very long to get to the mission room. Pilots filed into the room as the air was tense with nervous anticipation. They all had the feeling that they knew battle was coming soon but it was how it was coming that had them nervous.

Commander Ares quietly watched as the pilots made their way to the seats. He had already thought of a course of action and which squad would do what. It would take a bit of time to put into place but Ares was sure that it would work.

"Thank you all for coming so soon. I know that you're all wondering what we found on the scouting mission," Ares said looking at as many pilots as he could. He could see that many were looking at him for what to do. That was fine with him. He had become accustom to bearing the weight though it was a bit different this time. Now he was a commander and not the colonel. "Tell me, how does blue squad feel about roughing it for a short time?"

Troy was taken by surprise by the question but with a quick glance at his squadron he noticed that while there were a few surprised faces there was nobody shaking their heads.

"I think we can handle it commander," Troy replied with a slight grin on his face.

"Good," Ares said with a nod then went ahead with his plan. "The scouting report shows that there is one Cylon basestar and one combo station," he said as a picture of the station and basestar. "We've estimated that the two have a combined fighter compliment of three hundred fifty to four hundred."

Several pilots were shocked at that number but did not say anything. They had been outnumbered for every fight so far so this one was no different. The Argo carried on hundred vipers, or two extended squadrons. This meant that they would only be outnumbered by about three or four to one.

"I doubt that being outnumbered will be anything new to any of you but I think we can manage a surprise and take out several before they get a chance to launch their fighters," Ares told his pilots. "We have on board ten bombers that I plan to use in this battle."

Troy was not sure about this. The bombers were not as fast or maneuverable as the vipers. The pilots flying those craft would be in trouble for sure.

"I plan to use the planet as a staging area for the attack. We have shown that we can move small groups of ships to the planet without being noticed, I plan to use that to our advantage," Ares said. "For some reason the Cylons are not sending out patrols which is also to our advantage. I want to send blue squad to the planet along with the ten bombers. Once everything is set blue squad will attack from the planet's surface. The close proximity of the Cylon forces to the planet's surface should give you the element of surprise."

Troy glanced around to see how everyone was reacting to the news that had been given. This was an ambush in every sense of the plan. Troy realized that it would take a bit of time to get his entire squad on the planet's surface without the Cylon's noticing.

"I'll be sending the shuttles to the planet's surface as well with the supplies that will be needed. You will not be able to group your fighters close together in case they are spotted by the Cylons," Ares said to the group. "Once blue squad is in place we well set up a time for the attack. With the Cylons attention focused on blue squad I'll bring in the Argo out from behind the gas giant of the system. Red squad will then be launched for a two pronged attack. Hopefully the bombers will have been able to hit the launch bays of the basestar to limit the amount of fighters and inflict some damage on the basestar. After that the Argo will close in and launch her missiles to destroy the basestar and station. Any questions?"

The room was silent as they absorbed the plan. There was a lot of risk in the plan but it was simple enough. The only thing they had to worry about was the Cylons finding them on the planet's surface. No one said anything for many moments.

"Who will be flying the bombers," Troy finally asked.

"I would like people with experience but I'll also take volunteers," Ares replied.

Troy figured that it would take ten of his pilots away from the fighters, but they needed the heavy weapons of the bombers to take out the launch bays. Troy knew that he had experience with the bombers but did not know who else did.

"One the bombers have completed their attack runs they have the choice of returning to the Argo to switch to their vipers or to continue to attack until they run out of ammo," Ares said.

Troy thought about that for a few moments. A quick run in the bombers then switching to the viper and coming out fresh into the battle might help out. The only thing was they would have to be sure of their targets so no one attacked the same target as someone else.

"I'll volunteer, I have experience," Troy said taking the lead.

"Me too," Martin said from behind Troy. Several others quickly joined them as well. Each of them had some experience with the bomber. It did not take long before they had ten pilots.

"Looks good, let's get this plan into action," Ares said. "We should send the fighters to the planet's surface in groups of two or three. The first three groups will also have a shuttle along with it for the supplies. Then when everyone is there we'll attack. The last group down will have that information as we are not sure how long this will take."

"Yes sir," Troy said. "I think I should be one of the first ones down though."

Ares nodded his head in agreement. It was true leadership that was coming though from Troy that he sensed in the man. "Anyone you want to be in the last group."

"Nall, let him and whoever goes with him to know when the attack is going to occur," Troy said.

"I will, and good luck captain," Ares said as the meeting ended.

Everyone left the room to get ready for the upcoming battle. Red squad would continue to maintain the combat patrol in short range of the battlestar just in case.

* * *

Troy climbed into the bomber that he was going to be using for the battle. It was a ship that he really did not like to fly but he would do this time. He would be flying down with Bri and one shuttle. They would be responsible for beginning to set up the base camp which they would probably be at for about a couple of days. It had been determined not to rush this part of the operation. If more supplies were needed another shuttle would be dispatched.

"Core command to Blue one launch when ready," Troy heard Renee's voice say over the intercom.

Troy took a breath and released it in anticipation of the launch. He then pressed the button and felt the G-forces tug at his body. It was not quite as powerful as the viper but more than a shuttle launch. Once in space he was quickly joined by Bri and the shuttle. The most dangerous part of the journey was about to begin.

They were using the gas giant as a shield to approach the planet. They would have to wait until the Cylon forces disappeared behind the planet to make the approach to the planet's surface. The air was breathable but thin so they would have to work slowly on the planet's surface to avoid exhaustion. They had picked a predetermined spot on the planet to land.

The flight from the gas giant to the other planet was done on turbos to get there as quickly as possible. Troy had wondered why Ares just didn't send the entire squadron in one flight, but a large group of Colonial craft might be easier to pick up on then a few fighters. They quickly landed on the planet and powered down their fighters just in case. They would also have the scanners on to make sure that nothing else happened to the Cylon forces.

The small group began to set up the camp as quickly and carefully as they could. There were extra oxygen supplies just in case anyone strained themselves in the thin atmosphere. They were joined a while later by another two fighters and shuttle. They were spacing the groups between the orbits of the Cylon forces and had to be quick about it all.

Troy figured that it would not be long until his entire squadron was down on the planet's surface. Then the attack would begin.

* * *

The Battlestar Argo slowly made its way to the gas giant. Ares was hoping to use the planet to shield the approach and get even closer. The closer he got without detection by the Cylons the better chance he had of firing the first shot. That would help out greatly with the battle that was about to take place. Ares knew that he could not underestimate the Cylons but he hoped that most of his group made it back safely.

The one command that he hoped he did not have to give was the one to send the signal to fleet command. From what he had heard everything had been quiet lately. That did not seem good to Ares. He had the feeling that whatever the Cylons had planned with this station would happen soon.

The attack he had planned though was about to happen in the next few moments. He glanced down at the clock to notice that the attack would begin in the next few centons.

"Battle stations," Ares said as the ship went into full alert.

The bridge was bathed in a red light as crew members scrambled to their stations. This was the moment of truth that they all were waiting for.

"Anything from the Cylon forces," Ares said.

"No real activity that we can see yet," Renee replied as she watched her screen. Red squad was ready for launch and they were just waiting for green squad to begin their mission.

* * *

Troy sat in the bomber's cockpit watching the time. The clock was ticking down and he could feel the adrenalin rushing though his body like it always did when he was about to enter a fight. A sudden beep noise made him jump even though he was expecting it.

"Green squad, move out," he said as he pushed the turbo button on the bomber. He and six others were to attack the basestar. They each had a different bay that they would be attacking. The vipers would be attacking the gun emplacements on the basestar hopefully before any raiders could be launched.

Troy watched as Martin lined up on his wing. He briefly felt bad about what was going to happen but had to push that thought out of his mind. He glanced at his scanner and noticed that the Cylon forces were right above them decreasing the time that the Cylons had to launch their fighters.

"All groups break in and attack," Troy said as he and Martin turned a bit and lined up their shots. They were still flying as fast as they could closing the distance to the basestar.

Everyone was amazed that the Cylons still had yet to open fire on them. The thought was just in Troy's mind when the basestar opened fire on them. The explosions rocked the bomber a bit as the Cylons were trying to destroy the Colonial forces.

Troy concentrated on his approach and lined it up. He then saw the door to the hanger open. That was both a blessing and a curse. It meant that the raiders would be launching but it also meant that he had a clean shot inside.

Troy pushed his thumb down on the fire button and several large heavy laser shots pulsed from his bomber to impact in the hanger. He could see explosions inside and hoped that several Cylons raiders had been destroyed.

The vipers had already been in and out destroying gun emplacements while Troy and the other bombers lined up their missiles. He pushed the button for the missile and felt the difference as the missile left the ship. He had to turn but took a few shots at the hull of the basestar as he turned away. He knew that it probably would not inflict much damage but a little bit was better than nothing.

Two missiles were destroyed defensive fire; a few others hit the hull and caused damage but did not destroy the hanger. Three hit the hangers causing massive damage inside the basestar. The station was hit harder by the three bombers. They did not miss their targets as all three hit a hanger.

Cylon raiders were now starting to come out of the basestar as the hangers on the station had been destroyed. The bomber squad had maid their run and now was on the way back to the Argo which was making a fast dash into the battle. They passed red squad on the way into battle. That was when Troy heard it.

"Turn Martin, you have one on your tail," Nall's voice said.

"Frack," Martin replied as he jinxed his bomber around hoping to avoid the Cylon raider. He made a turn and felt his ship get hit. It was a critical hit but damaging anyways. "I'm hit."

"I'm on it," Nall said as he lined up the attacking raider. He fired once and destroyed the Cylon raider. "You're clear Martin."

"Thanks, I think," Martin's voice said but did not sound that convincing.

"What's wrong," Nall replied concerned.

"I can't turn it," Martin said.

Troy quickly made his way to the Argo's landing bay wishing that he could not hear the conversation but knowing that he had to anyways. This was what he was dreading since he had seen the vision of Martin. His path was now different from the rest of them.

He quickly got out of the bomber and headed to his viper. It was already fueled and ready to go. The flight crew handed him his helmet as he jumped into the viper. He was quickly given permission to launch. He felt the force of the launch push him into his seat as he went to join the ongoing battle.

The Argo and basestar were now hammering away at each other but it was obvious that the basestar was losing. The Argo was doing more damage then the basestar was. Then he saw the large anti-ship missiles launch. They streaked towards the basestar as he lined up a raider and destroyed it. The basestar exploded in a mass of light and debris leaving just the station left. There were not many raiders that had managed to launch in the attack. The Colonials outnumbered the raiders which was good for them.

The Argo then lined up the station which did not seem to have much armament on it, or the damage to it was already severe. A few more missiles were launched which destroyed the station.

Now all that was left was the destruction of the raiders and the attack was over. It was a mop up operation and Troy let his thoughts drift over to what Nall and Bri were doing. He turned his viper to go and catch up with the three of them.

Martin was still unable to turn his bomber. Troy looked at the damage to the ship and noticed that there appeared no way to repair the ship.

"Can you turn off your engines," Bri asked having tried everything else.

"Already tried, the circuit seems to be fried," Martin replied.

"Nall, Bri, how is your fuel," Troy said. They replied that it was fine. "Scout on up ahead and see if there are any hospitable planets."

Bri hit her thrusters and went on ahead of the group. She used her long range scanners to see if there was anything. It took a bit but she replied back that on the edge of the scanners there appeared to be a system that Martin was approaching that he might find a planet to land on. It was at the edge of the scanner but well within the range of the bomber, but not the viper.

"All right, you two head on back to the Argo, that's an order," Troy said. There was a bit of protesting but the two pilots finally backed down. The wished Martin good luck and promised to send a rescue mission. Once they were gone Troy knew that he had to tell Martin.

"What do you think, honestly," Martin replied. "I'm going to drift forever in space right."

"No, but there won't be a rescue mission Martin. Your path from here on out is different than the rest of us. You have a mission already my friend," Troy replied.

"A mission," Martin asked not sure he understood.

"I don't know it all yet but if we rescue you then we risk changing future events. I just know you will help out a lost warrior, but I don't know much else," Troy replied.

"I don't die alone in space," Martin asked.

"That I did not see. It was a planet with people. Beyond that it did not tell me," Troy said.

"You're a gifted," Martin asked.

"Yes," Troy replied knowing that he did not have to hide anything.

"That makes me feel better. Do me a favor though," Martin said. "Tell Nall and Bri for me."

"I will," Troy replied. "Take care friend," he said then banked his viper away from Martin and headed back to the Argo.

* * *

Ares was listening to Bri and Nall as they were planning a rescue mission for Martin. He was about to give it the go ahead when Troy walked into the room. From the look on his face Ares knew that something was up.

"You wanted to know when I had a vision," Troy said to Ares who nodded his head. "Well I had one of Martin some time ago. We can't go to rescue him."

"What," Bri about exploded as she turned to face him. "You better explain and what do you mean by vision?"

"He's gifted," Ares said calmly. "Now what do you mean."

"Martin is destined to another fate," Troy said. "If we rescue him we doom another which would have grave consequences for everyone."

"I see," Ares replied.

"You're dooming him to die in space," Bri said as she turned and walked out the door without looking back.

"He lands on a planet but his bomber will be pretty much wreaked. He helps another who I feel is important to our survival. I do know that Martin will not be alone," Troy said.

"I once had a gifted person tell me that I would go on a long journey that would take me away from the colonies for many yehrens. I didn't believe him until now," Nall said. "I believe you and don't worry about Bri. Once she calms down and thinks about it she'll be your friend again."

"I hope so," Troy said.

"She will," Nall said. "Come on; let's go toast a friend to a new path."

Ares watched as the two walked out. He wondered about Nall and his apparent calmness about everything. He was actually glad he did not have to authorize the rescue mission. The ships would have been stretched for fuel as it was and there was only about a fifty percent chance they would return. He could have turned the Argo around but that would be on a path closer to the colonies and perhaps even the Cylons. The Delphian Empire was not far away and they were at war with the Cylons as well. He would trust in Troy's vision this time.

"Helm set in a course for the next system and have damage reports sent to my office," Ares said then turned and walked out.

* * *

Martin groaned as he fought to remember what had happened. The crash must have been worse then he thought. The planet seemed to be right in front of him and he had no control over the flight path as he went straight into the planet.

"There there, take it easy," he heard a female voice say. He was able to open his eyes and say a beautiful woman looking into his eyes. She had blonde hair and he could see another blond man standing behind her.

"Looks like you are lucky to be alive," the man said. "I'm Bootees and this is my sister Vella."

"Martin," he replied knowing that he would not be alone

Continued in Ghost Ship


	6. Chapter 6: Ghost Ship

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Ghost Ship**

Troy made his way down the hallway towards the pilot's ready room where many of the pilots spent their time when they were off duty. He noticed Nall and Bri were in the room and wondered if he would be welcome there. Bri had still not come around yet. Nall was right when he said she could be mad but he had yet to see her calm down yet.

Nall motioned him over to which he tentatively walked over. Bri avoided eye contact with him which he had expected.

"Nall, Bri," Troy said as he sat down at the table and ordered a drink.

"Hey Troy," Nall said gaining his attention. "Did Martin know about your vision?"

"Yes," Troy replied. "I told him what I could about it just before we parted ways for the last time."

"What did he say," Nall asked wanting to know what his friend had thought of such a thing.

"He said something to the effect that he was glad that he would not die alone. We might even be able to pick him up on the way back once the mission is done," Troy said.

"I still don't see why we couldn't have gone on the rescue mission," Bri said.

"Two reasons," Troy said. "One is that it was out of any ships range and the second it is his fate. If we take him off his path it could have tragic results for a lot of people."

"I still don't like it," Bri said from where she sat. She reminded Troy of a pouting child, a cute pouting child.

"I think one day we might know what really happened," Troy said. There was a feeling that they would be back one day.

"I hope so," Nall said. "I hate not knowing what is going to happen."

"That's 'cause you keep using the same plan over and over again with your women," Bri replied.

"Ha-ha, well at least they like it," Nall replied with a waggle of his eyebrows.

"I'm surprised that you haven't tried getting into the women's showers by mistake," Bri said shaking her head. Nall remained quiet as Bri turned to look at him. "By Kobal, you have. Just tell me that I wasn't in there at the time."

As an answer Nall just grinned and looked Bri up and down with a grin on his face. Bri's head dropped to the table as she groaned.

"Did anyone see you," Bri mumbled from the table top.

"Not yet," Nall finally replied before beginning to laugh.

"Great, now I'll be paranoid next time I take a shower. And no I'm not going to tell you that I am taking a shower," Bri said as she sat back up giving Nall a sharp look.

"Ohh, I'm scared," Nall said with a smile on his face again.

"Remember the steam burn," she said with a grin watching as Nall lost his grin.

"Steam burn," Troy asked with a questioning look on his face.

"He was going out with the flight controller at the time and decided to play around with another crewmember. Now everyone knows that during off times one of the best places is the launch tubes," Bri explained.

"Oh no," Troy said almost wincing with Nall.

"Yeah, and someone opened her mouth telling everyone what I was doing," Nall said.

"I just told one person," Bri replied gaining an innocent look on her face.

"Yeah, only Vanessa's best friend," Nall said.

"That was only because I couldn't find Vanessa," Bri said with a smile.

"Troy, if you date anyone, make sure it isn't the flight controller," Nall said very seriously to which he began to laugh.

"All right I won't," Troy said.

They would have done more but the ship went to red alert at that moment. Everyone glanced at each other wondering what was going on. They raced to their ships just in case there was something wrong. It could just be a drill but usually squad leaders were told a little bit in advance about such things.

* * *

Ares quickly ran to the bridge to see what was going on. He had been reading over the reports of the repairs to the Argo since the last battle. Most of the damage had been repaired already. Now with the alarm he hoped that they had not stumbled across even more Cylons.

"What's wrong colonel," Ares asked once he got onto the bridge.

"We've lost contact with patrol three," Pratt replied. "We lost them about ten centons ago and have yet to hear anything from them."

"Any contacts on the long range scanners," Ares asked not sure what was out there.

"Nothing that we can see. We might also be just too far away for the scanners to pick it up if the ship is small enough," Pratt said.

"Send six vipers to patrol the area. I want constant radio communication with them at all times," Ares said.

The crew went to work as six vipers were launched to the area where patrol three went missing. This was a mystery that needed to be uncovered fast. The six were part of green squad which made Ares feel a bit better. They should be able to uncover what was going on.

* * *

"Green leader, you and five of you squad are to head to patrol three's last reported position and scan the area. The patrol has gone missing," Renee said over the intercom to Troy. This was a bit more serious than he had thought. He had really been hoping for a drill and not the real thing.

"Roger core command," Troy replied. As Renee named off who was going to be with him. Bri and Nall were named along with three others. This was going to be the first flight since the attack had happened. They also were not near any planets at the moment so this was a mystery to everyone.

The six vipers launched and formed up quickly near the Argo. They then turned their vipers to the last known location that the patrol had been at. They flew out there while keeping in constant communications with the Argo. The group was on high alert as they neared the area that patrol three had disappeared from.

"Anyone see anything on their scanners," Troy asked receiving several no's as a reply. There was not even a hint at debris or anything else that might indicate what had happened with the patrol.

"Core command we still have nothing on our scanners," Troy said.

"Understood green leader," Renee replied to his report.

"This is getting creepy," Bri said more to herself than anyone else but she had said it over the intercom for everyone to hear. Troy had to agree with her on this one though. There was a lot of different things that could happen out here but he did not see anything. There really was nothing out there that the scanners could read.

"Green six to green leader," one of the pilots said interrupting Troy from his thoughts.

"Go ahead," Troy said.

"I'm picking up a mysterious signal coming from just up ahead of me," green six said.

"Green leader to core command we are receiving some mysterious signals. I'm going to try and have the signal boosted and sent back to you," Troy said.

"Roger green leader," Renee said.

"Green six, can you boost the signal and send it to the Argo," Troy asked.

"I'll try," the reply came.

"Green two and three you're with me the rest wait here and keep a lock on our signals. Keep the Argo informed as to what it going on," Troy said.

"Understood green leader," everyone said.

Bri and Nall formed up on Troy as the others stayed with green six. The three vipers started to pick up the signal as they tried to home in on the signal. There was still nothing on their scanners to indicate where or what was producing the signal. The warbook was not able to identify the signal and he was a bit glad that it did not seem to be Cylon in origin.

Suddenly Nall let out a shout over the radio as his viper made a sudden turn. It was almost a one hundred and eighty degree turn prompting Troy and Bri to turn as well and go back over to him.

"Nall, what happened," Troy asked concerned about what he had just done.

"There's a ship there," Nall replied. "It doesn't show up until you're almost on top of it. I came real close to hitting it."

Troy thought that it was interesting. If it really was a ship then it had some sort of advanced stealth technology that he had never seen before. There was not any threat against them yet and he still could not see the ship. But if it was black and a bit reflective then he may not see it until he was almost on top of it as well.

"Green leader to green six come in," Troy said over the intercom. He waited a few seconds before receiving no response. "Nall, head out there and see if they are still there then get back here to help us figure out this ship."

Nall turned his viper back towards the Argo and with in a few moments had established contact with green six and told them what had happened. He then turned around and headed back to where Bri and Troy were.

Troy had figured out that they would glide very slowly towards the ship to see if they could see it. If they could see it then they might be able to find a landing area on the ship and figure out what it was. He had already tried to hail the ship but had been met with only silence.

It took a few tense moments before Nall finally was able to see the ship again. As he got closer he was able to see a bit of the detail of the ship. He could detect no real threat to anything or any weapon emplacements on the ship. The more he looked at the ship the more interesting it got.

"See anything," Bri asked him as they watched where he was.

"Yeah, I'm right at the ship now," Nall replied. "I think that it easily as big as the Argo is."

"Any weapons," Troy asked hoping that the answer would be no.

"None that I can see, but nothing conclusive," Nall replied.

"Do you see anything that we could use as an entrance," Troy asked as he and Bri slowly made their way closer to where Nall's viper was.

"There may be but we'll have to investigate it a bit more," Nall replied.

"Be careful, we're moving up to where you are," Troy said as they began to get closer to where he was.

It was not very long until the ship came into view. It had a very dark reflective surface on it that made it very hard to see in space. What was blocking it from the scanners was something else. Troy decided that they would take a bit of time and look around to see if they could find a way in or not.

The signal was still coming through and was much stronger now. The computers were still not able to decipher the code that it was using. Troy had no idea what the signal was saying. It could be a stay away message or one for help.

"Over here," Bri suddenly called out. "I think I've found a way in."

"Here's the plan," Troy said as he thought about it. "Nall and I will head into the ship. Bri, I want you to head back to where the others are waiting and tell them and core command what it happening."

The two of them made their way over to where Bri had been. There was an opening in the ship that looked like a hanger. Troy decided to move slowly ahead in case there was a shield covering the hanger. He slowly made his way into the ship and was thankful when his viper touched down on the surface of the hanger. Nall joined him a moment later.

Glancing around they noticed the missing vipers also on the hanger deck. That meant that patrol three was on board the ship. The question now was how had they made it on board. Were they a prisoner or guest or like them stumbled across the ship and went to investigate it.

"Atmosphere readings are normal," Troy said as he looked at the scanner.

"What do you say to looking around a bit," Nall asked.

"Let's do it and maybe we'll find patrol three," Troy replied.

The two plots got out of the ships making their way over to where the other two vipers were. There was no signs if damage to them and nothing that would indicate that the pilots had encountered trouble. There also was only a bare minimal amount of light on board.

"Looks like the power is low or being conserved," Nall said as he glanced around the hanger. Troy nodded his head in agreement.

"Let's go explore," Troy said.

* * *

Ares waited as patiently as he could for information to come in. The latest he had heard was they had found a ship in the patrol area. Ares knew that it was not a Colonial or Cylon ship. Nothing they had could cloak that well as what was being described. But if they could find out it would make a huge difference in the war against the Cylons.

Pushing those thoughts aside he turned back to the scanners. They still had a lock on three of the vipers. But the closer the vipers got to the ship the more they disappeared. There must be some sort of damping field that the ship generates to create such an effect.

"Sir, we're getting a report from green squad," Renee said turning to gain the commander's attention.

"Put it through," Ares said. "What have you found?"

"There is a ship, probably about as big as a battlestar. It doesn't look to be a military ship but its cloaking abilities are quiet tremendous," Ares heard Bri reply. "We found a way in and Troy and Nall are headed inside to see if they can find anything inside."

"Very well," Ares said. "Have a new patrol formed up ready to relieve green squad when their fuel begins to run low. I want to keep a group as close to this ship as possible while still keeping radio and scanner contact with them."

"Yes sir," Pratt replied as he went to carry out the orders.

Ares wanted to make sure that they had as much warning as possible if the ship turned hostile. It disturbed him that they were not able to pick it up on the scanners. If the ship was hostile then it would be a huge advantage for whoever it was.

The one thing that he did not like was the face that they were not able to communicate with the ship. There was a communications coming from the ship but it was nothing that Weaver had ever seen before. Now he had to wait to see what happened inside the ship. He could only hope that Troy and Nall did not do anything to insult the aliens of the ship.

Troy, he really was not to concerned about. Nall had the ability to cause a problem but when he was on duty the man was usually a true professional. Then there was also the question of what had happened to patrol three. Had they run into the ship and been destroyed. Bri had not mentioned anything about that yet. Either they were on board the ship, or where the scanners were being blocked. Unfortunately now all he could do was wait until he heard something from them.

* * *

Troy and Nall had made their way down the corridor but had so far seen or heard nothing. There was not even any indication of patrol three. Troy had hoped that they would have been able to pick up on the trail of the patrol but there was nothing to indicate which way they might have gone.

"Do you remembered where we parked," Nall suddenly asked as they made another turn.

Troy looked at the corridor and realized that they all looked alike. "Uh, that way," he replied vaguely pointing in a direction.

"That's what I thought," Nall replied. He was not sure about anything either and realized how easy it was to become lost in this ship.

"I figure that patrol three is probably going to be as lost as we are," Troy said as they continued to walk.

"Let's try inside one of these rooms. Maybe we can find something out," Nall said.

Troy agreed and at the next closed door they tried to open it. He looked around for anything that might be a way to open the door that they could recognize. There was little around the door except for a flat piece of metal. With a shrug Nall pushed against it. The panel gave a bit and the door opened.

"Well, I guess that's how they open these doors then," Nall said as he glanced inside the room. Troy followed right behind him with his hand on his blaster. He hoped that he would not have a reason to use it.

"Interesting décor," Troy said as they glanced around. It appeared to be someone's quarters. What was surprising was the lack of dust on everything. It was almost as if someone was still here.

"Let's try another room and see if it's the same," Nall said as they used the panel to open the door.

After the next three rooms which were all decorated the same and all dust free they began to wonder about the ship being deserted. They made their way down another corridor when they could hear faint footsteps. Nall and Troy looked at each other and cautiously approached where the sounds were coming from. It did not take long before two figures turned the corner right into them.

Four weapons were quickly drawn in reflex to each other before recognition set in. Troy lowered his blaster while shaking his head.

"Frack Gunther," Troy said. "Scare us all the way back to the Colonies why don't you."

"I could say the same for you," Gunther replied. "What are you doing here?"

"You two disappeared and we were sent to investigate," Troy replied. "We came across this ship and found a way in just like you did."

"Yeah, in fact we're parked next to you," Nall said.

"Then you know the way back," Gunther replied.

"Ah, not really. We were kinda hoping that you did," Troy said having to admit that he really did not know where he was.

That makes all of then," Gunther said. "We got a bit lost."

"But I think things are beginning to get a bit more familiar," his partner replied. "See these symbols," he said pointing to the wall. "Each corridor's is a bit different. A bit like the markings on board the Argo."

"But we can't read that language," Nall said.

"True, but we can see if we've seen them before and hopefully avoid going in circles," Troy said. "It's an idea."

"Have you come across anyone," Gunther asked.

"Nope," Troy replied knowing that the other two had not either. "We did go inside a few rooms. Everything is very clean, neat and ordered."

"Like the crew is still here," Gunther replied.

"Right," Troy said. "I guess maybe we should look around some more then," Nall said. "Perhaps we can find our way back as well."

"Sounds good to me," Gunther said.

They continued to walk around for a few more moments when they came to a door that they had not seen yet. It had writing on it and looked to be important. Deciding to head inside the door opened revealing a large room. Inside were all types of equipment that they had never seen before. Along one side of the wall was a huge screen. Nall cautiously walked over to that side of the room while the others spread out in different directions.

"Identify," a voice said causing all of them to spin around looking for what might have said something. Looking around they still were not able to find anything that might be the source of the voice when it said it again.

"Where is that coming from," Gunther asked as they continued to look around.

"Name not found, identify," the voice said again.

"Computer," Nall said snapping his fingers.

As he said the word the screen along the wall came to life. There were marking all along the screen that none of them could read.

"User identify," the computer asked. The four men looked at each other with a shrug of their shoulders. They really did not know what they should do.

"Lieutenant Nall of the Battlestar Argo," Nall finally said as he stepped closer to the wall.

"Lieutenant Nall of the Battlestar Argo, user name not found do you wish to create a user ID," the computer asked. Again the group looked at Nall who was looking at the group. Troy motioned with his hand for Nall to continue going while he motioned for the others to remain quiet.

"Yes," Nall said.

"Homeworld," the computer asked which Nall replied. The computer then asked a few more questions which seemed to get more detailed about where he was from than anything else.

"User I'D created, Welcome Lieutenant Nall of the Battlestar Argo," the computer said. "Access to general systems granted."

"That does us a lot of good," Gunther said. "We can't even read it."

"Don't be so sure," his partner said as they watched the screen. It changed from unreadable words to words that they could read.

"This is freaky," Troy said as they began to read.

They realized it was a history of the people. They were leaving their homeworld for good as their sun no longer could support life on the planet. They were making a voyage to a far off planet on the other side of the universe. They knew about the war of the Colonials and Cylons. Troy realized that the history was quite old as it mentioned nothing about basestars and battlestars. The heaviest class of ships were guncruisers which had not been a main ship in almost seven hundred yehrens.

While on the voyage there had been a problem with the engines on the ship. They failed leaving the ship drifting in space with no help. It was moving so slowly that it would be hundreds of yehrens before it made it to a habitable world.

"That's interesting," Nall said as he finished reading.

Troy glanced at Nall who pointed at the bottom of the screen. There on the bottom was what happened to everyone on the ship. They had gone into an electronic stasis. An entire population was being stored in the ships computers until the day that a planet came into range of the ship or help came aboard.

"Can we fix it," Troy said glancing at Nall.

"I don't know," Nall said as the screen switched to the damage to the engines.

It amazed Troy that for such an advanced ship the engines were so simple. They had the parts on board the Argo.

"We can fix it," Troy said. "Let's see if we can get a blueprint of the ship so we can head back and get help."

A video grid appeared displaying the interior of the ship, where they were and where their fighters were along with a path. That helped out a lot.

"I'll stay here and see what else I can learn," Nall said to the others. We might need someone here to help out."

"Right," Troy said. Gunther decided to stay as well and see if he could find the engine room so when the repair crew came aboard he could show them the way easily.

"Let's go," Troy said to the other one. They moved out of the room easily and Troy was amazed to see the writing on the wall now in Colonial writing helping them out. They found their fighters quickly with the help of the map.

* * *

Ares was summoned over to where Renee was. The squad was heading back to the fleet minus two vipers which stayed in position so they could locate the ship. Captain Troy was asking to talk with the commander as well.

"What did you find out captain," Ares asked.

"It's a colony ship," Troy said. "A group of aliens was heading across the universe to leave their dying planet behind when they ran into trouble. We can fix their engines sir."

Ares thought about that for a few microns. He was not sure if this was the wisest decision but he wished to help out others. Troy told him the rest about what had happened to the crew and people on the ship. That seemed to make up Ares' mind. He told Troy that a repair team would be waiting for him in the landing bay. He then went to the landing bay himself as he told Pratt that he was going as well. Pratt was not sure about that but allowed him to leave.

Troy was shocked when Ares insisted on coming along. The flight back to the ship was quick as they landed on the ship. Ares went to the computer station where Nall was as the repair team went to the engine room.

Ares was given updates by the repair crew and they had to work for a few moments to create an adaptor to fit the alien ship. It was not long before the engines were ready to be tested again. They asked the computer to start the engine.

Power flowed throughout the ship as lights came on to full brightness making it to where they could turn off the lamps they had brought with them. In the corner of the room in what looked like a open shower a humanoid figure appeared. It was similar but a bit taller and thinner. The neck was about twice as long as a humans and the face appeared to have been stretched.

Another one appeared shortly after that one and they approached the small group. It glanced at the screen and then back at the men.

"You helped us," it said in a high pitched voice.

"It seemed like the right thing to do," Ares replied taking a step forward so they knew he was in charge.

"You are human yes," it said. "From the Colonies."

"Correct," Ares answered wondering what would happen now.

"How long," the other alien asked.

"About seven hundred yehrens," Nall replied.

"War," the first on asked.

"Unfortunately yes, we are still at war with the Cylons," Ares replied knowing that they knew about that war.

"I see, then we must continue our journey," the first on said.

Ares realized that this was going to be the end of the conversation and motioned for his men to leave. He too was about to walk out when he thought of one more thing.

"You will be able to bring everyone back," Ares asked.

The one that had moved over to the computer replied that they would then went back to work.

"One last thing, have you heard of a human planet called Earth," Ares asked wondering if they would be able to help them out.

"I'm sorry, but we have not. The galaxy is a large and strange place even for travelers such as ourselves," the first one said. "Now we must part ways."

Ares nodded his head and left the room.

* * *

Nall was relaxing in the lounge with Bri and Troy when Ares walked in and sat down with them.

"I can't believe it, we help them out and they tell us to leave," Nall said not sure he understood them.

"Perhaps it is for the best," Ares said.

"Yeah, best for them," Nall said.

"I'm sure they have their rules and reasons just as much as we do," Ares replied. "Besides, we did learn one thing."

"What," Nall asked.

"They didn't know where Earth was either," Ares said.

"That would have been helpful," Troy said.

"Well we continue on our mission then," Bri said.

* * *

Renee was sitting at her computer watching as a one of the patrols launched when she thought she saw something strange on her computer. A quick flash then it was gone.

Quickly checking everything and noticing that everything was fine she shrugged it off and went back to work.

Hidden deep inside the Argo's computer a file lay hidden. It had a mission and would wait until it was time.

Continued in The Alliance


	7. Chapter 7: The Alliance

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**The Alliance**

Ares walked along the bridge of the Argo as he watched the crew go about their normal routines. So far the news from home had indicated that the encounter with the Cylons that they had interfered with a major offensive by the Cylons. The BattlestarPrometheus had been destroyed but the warriors had inflicted heavy damage on the Cylons.

Ares figured that the Cylon force that they had destroyed was probably part of that offensive push. It had been beaten back and now thing back at the Colonies had settled down a bit. He briefly wondered what would have happened had the Argo been part of the battle fleet and not encountered the Cylon forces. Would one battlestar make a difference in the fight?

With those thoughts Ares knew that the only way to defeat the Cylons was a larger fleet. That was something that the council of the twelve seemed not to what to do. They were satisfied with the seven battlestars that they had right now. He wondered how the funding for the Argo had happened. There were several in the military that wanted construction of new classes of battlestars. Some of the ships were hundreds of yehrens old like the Galactica. She was over five hundred yehrens old already. Some of the newer battlestars were already one hundred yehrens old.

"Commander, we're receiving a contact on the long range scanners," Renee said as Ares turned and walked over to his scanner. There on the edge of the scanner were two blips on the screen. "Who's on ready patrol," he asked.

"Lieutenant Nall and his new wingmate Jax," Renee replied.

Ares nodded his head knowing that Jax was one of the replacement pilots that was on board to replace loses that the Argo might encounter. "Have them head out and investigate the contacts with caution," Ares said.

"Yes sir," Renee replied relaying the orders to the two waiting pilots. Within a few moments the two vipers had been launched. Ares hoped that he had an answer soon to his questions.

* * *

Nall approached the strange ship which he had never seen before. It had a long triangle shape to it. It hull was painted black but was easily seen unlike the other ship they had encountered earlier. This one had a more military look to it for sure but the warbook was not able to identify it.

The two followed the ship as it headed toward a planet. It seemed to be a planet that looked like it was able to sustain life. There were no other ships of other signs of orbital station around the planet as they watched the ship land on the planet's surface.

"What do you think lieutenant," Jax asked over the intercom.

"I thinking we should check it out and see what's going on," Nall said. "We might be able to find out something."

"Lead on," Jax said as she followed Nall's viper on down to the planet's surface. Once on the ground they checked the planet's atmosphere to make sure that it was compatible to their own.

"Watch out, the air is thinner here so you won't want to overdo it," Nall said.

"I copy," Jax said as they got out of their vipers and looked around. Everything seemed to be normal to them from what they could see. It was like being back on the colonies.

The two of them slowly made their way towards where they had seen the larger ship land. They were on the lookout for anything as they were sure that they had been spotted. If they had no then the people here were not as advanced as they thought.

Nall walked to the top of the hill to see if there was anything that he could see. So far they had not found anything and he was a bit reluctant to go much further for fear of losing where their vipers were. He could see the top of a ship in a large clearing where on the other side a couple of buildings were. This must have been the ship that they were following. Now all they had to do was approach it and find out who they were. He quickly motioned to Jax to come on up.

"Is that it," she asked once she had reached the point where Nall was.

"I think so," Nall replied. "It does look about the same."

"Now what," Jax asked.

Nall thought it over for a few seconds before finally coming up with a small plan. They needed information about everything that was on the planet to see if this was perhaps Earth or maybe a colony of Earth. He quickly explained what he wanted to do and they headed back to their fighters.

* * *

"Commander, Lieutenant Nall and Jax have landed on a planet just on the edge of our long range scanners," Renee said to Ares and Pratt who were standing on the command platform of the bridge.

"Good, lay in a course to the planet but at a slow speed. We need to know what we are up against," Ares said.

"Understood commander," she replied as the helm officer plotted the course to the plane slow speed.

"What do you think," Pratt asked him.

"I don't know. We could be on the edge of Earth space, but I just don't know," Ares said. "We're going to have to wait until Nall and Jax return from their mission."

"I had a feeling that you were going to say that," Pratt said. "And what if it's something else, or even a hostile force?"

"Then we'll cross that daggit when we get to it and not before," Are said. "I don't plan on being the hostile one here but if they start a fight I'll finish it."

"I know you will," Pratt replied. He had gone over Ares record and was impress with the man's potential and ability to command. He could understand why he had been chosen for the command.

The Battlestar Argo slowly turned towards the planet unaware of the chaos that it was causing.

* * *

"Captain, we have an unusual target coming into the scanner range," the scanner officer said not looking away from his monitor.

"What is it," the captain asked walking down the short way to where the scanner officer sat.

"I don't know. We've never seen anything like it before," the officer replied. "But whatever it is, it is very large."

"Get me destroyer eight and ten," the captain said.

"Sir, we also have destroyer twelve on Praxis five," the communications officer said.

"Good, we might need them as well," the captain said. "If they dare to travel in our space then they will know the might of the Alliance once and for all, politicians be damned."

* * *

Nall and Jax had returned to their fighters and changed out of their uniforms into something he hoped would be a bit less conspicuous to the people. The one thing that he did not like was leaving his weapons behind.

"Perhaps just one of us should go down there," Jax finally said a bit uncomfortable with everything.

"No, the commander will know that we are on the planet by now. If we take too long he'll send a rescue team," Nall said as if he knew for sure what was going to happen. "Besides, all we're going to do is observe, that's it."

"I'm taking you at your word," Jax replied.

"Really," Nall said as he looked over at the black haired woman.

"By the lords of Kobal," Jax said rolling her eyes. "Bri was right about you."

"She was right about everything," Nall purred as he walked closer to Jax. "How would you like to find out about it later on after the mission?"

"We'll see," she replied back then turned and with an exaggerated sway of her hips walked off towards their objective.

"Oh yeah," Nall whispered quietly to himself. Then he had to job quickly to catch up to her.

They walked back to the hill where they had observed the ship. Reaching it they were both glad, and disappointed that the ship was still there. They silently made their way down to the other side of the ship and noticed a small town. That would be the best bet to see what was going on.

Nall noticed that their clothing might be a bit different but would probably pass. He observed that the kids had some weird styles on so no one would probably notice them at all. They walked into part of the town which had people walking around.

Listening to the conversation he was glad to know that he could understand them. That would have been a sticking point if they did not talk the same language. Even then he had the feeling that some words might not mean the same in their language. He reminded Jax to be careful of what she said.

"Eh, I don't remember seein' you around here's before," a man with a uniform said walking up to where Nall and Jax were standing.

"We're travelers," Nall replied eyeing the man. He did not seem like he was trouble but Nall was not going to take any chances.

"Dat so, den where are you from," the man asked.

"Don't know, I was an orphan going up," Nall replied telling the truth knowing that it quite was not what the man wanted.

"Dat's not what I'm talkin' about and you knows it," the man said.

"Its top secret," Jax said, speaking up with a hard look in her eye.

"Wells then perhaps yous should head to de captain's office. He'd probably be waiting for yous," he said, then turned and walked off apparently satirized about the response.

"I think we should try and get our information quickly and get out of here," Nall said to Jax.

"Right," Jax said, agreeing with him. They both had the feeling that he was probably on his way to talk with his captain then they would be in trouble real quick.

They walked a bit further down the street when Jax motioned to Nall. She glanced at the store and then back to Nall. There was a book store in the area. Nall figured that it might have the information that he needed and they walked into the store.

"Greetings and welcome," an elderly lady said, as they walked into the store and the bell chimed indicating someone had walked in.

"Hi there," Jax replied.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" the woman asked.

"Perhaps there is," Nall said looking at Jax then back at the woman. "My wife and I are travelers looking for ancient myths and legends. Where would we find anything on that here?" Nall asked her knowing that Jax was stifling a look at him and he had stifle a grin.

"Oh, I don't have much here in my store, but what I do have is over here," the lady replied, leading them over to the books. "Is there anything in particular that you're looking for," she asked them.

"Anything regarding a planet Earth," Jax said, deciding to just bring it right out to the open.

"Earth, I'm afraid that I don't have anything on that. The Alliance doesn't like anyone talking about that myth," the lady said.

"Alliance," Nall said, before he could stop himself.

The lady turned around and studied them carefully then looked around before saying anything. "You're not from around here are you," she said.

"Nope," Nall replied.

"A bit of advice then, get away now before they find out," she said. "The Alliance doesn't like strangers asking questions."

"Before we go do you know anything," Nall replied.

"Very well, I will tell you what I remember of the myth," the woman said. "It's an ancient myth, one that says we came from the stars, from a place called Kobal, also called Eden. Thirteen tribes lived on the planet in peace. But a terrible tragedy occurred and they were forced to flee the planet. Twelve tribes set out together and the thirteenth went off on their own. On the way a group mutinied and wanted to rejoin the other twelve tribes. Not able to find the others they settled on a planet and called it Terra."

Nall thought about what he had just been told. This group was part of the thirteenth tribe, but not Earth. He and Jax exchanged a look that the older lady caught.

"Is it really true," she asked wondering if what she had been told was true or not. She had always thought that in myth there was an ounce of truth.

Nall considered what to tell her as he thought about it. Most of what he knew was legend and myth much like she knew. The only difference was she had a different piece of the myth.

"I don't know, but I really hope so," Nall replied.

"It seems that you should leave quickly," the lady said looking out the window.

Nall and Jax turned their heads to see what she was looking at. Outside there were two uniformed men talking with another person.

"That doesn't look too good," Jax said which Nall had to agree with.

"I think it's time we left," Nall replied turning back to the woman and thanking her for her help. They quickly walked out of the store and down the street hoping that they would not be detected. That was short lived as he heard one of the guards order them to stop. "Run," he told Jax who began running towards their fighters.

They could hear the men running after them as they quickly made their way out of the small town. It seemed that the guard they had encountered had gone to talk with his captain and found out they were strangers. Nall was glad that their vipers were not parked that far away as he was breathing heavily already when he got to his. He glanced over and noticed that Jax had also arrived at her viper.

Nall risked a glance at their pursuers and noticed that they too were breathing quite heavily. That meant that they were not used to the thin atmosphere either. As quickly as he was able he got into his viper and ran through an abbreviated checklist for takeoff.

The group running after them stopped as they saw the strange fighters and the whine of the engines warming up. Before any of them could do anything else they blasted off and headed up out of sight.

Nall breathed a sigh of relief as they passed thought the clouds and left the atmosphere of the planet. He was not sure if they would be followed or not but he did not want to take any chances.

"Green three to Argo over," Nall said.

"Go ahead green three," he heard Renee's voice say over the intercom.

"We found out what we needed but ran into a bit of trouble with the authorities on the planet," Nall replied.

"We'll keep an eye on the scanners, but in the meantime make your way back here and let me know what you found out," Nall heard Ares say.

"Yes sir commander," Nall replied as he and Jax made their way to the Argo.

* * *

"Sir, we have two unknown contacts coming up from the Parxis heading towards the unknown target," the scanner operator said.

"They must be Nationalist spies. Any word from Parxis," the captain asked turning to see what was going on.

"Nothing yet captain, we're still trying to get a hold of destroyer twelve," the communications officer said.

"Let me know the moment you have him. What about destroyers eight and ten," he asked them.

"Both captains report that they are on their way here and should be here shortly," the officer replied to the captain.

"Good," the captain replied.

"Captain, I'm getting a communication from the planet's surface, its Captain Jonas," the communication officer said.

"Put it through," the captain said.

"This is Captain Jonas of Parxis Five to any Alliance destroyers in the area. Parxis was just visited by Nationalist spies, if anyone can intercept them and destroy them. Destroyer twelve is launching as we speak," Jonas said.

"This is Captain Ryan of destroyer four, I have the spies on my scanners and already requested back up from two more destroyers," Ryan replied.

"Good, I will inform headquarters of what has happened," Jonas said.

"You heard the captain, once destroyers eight, ten and twelve form up with us we will attack and destroy this new Nationalist threat to our security," Ryan said.

* * *

Ares did not like the fact that Nall and Jax might have gotten into trouble during their mission. The question now was how to handle anything that might come their way. They could view the Argo as a threat to their security. That would mean they might attack them even without warning.

"Commander, I'm picking up movement near the system that Green three and eight just came from," Renee said.

Pratt quickly walked down to see for himself. He noticed that there appeared to be two to four targets that the scanners were picking up. It was hard to determine because of the planets and how close the ships were.

"Looks like a possible four contacts commander," Pratt said looking up to where Ares was standing.

"How soon till our fighters are back aboard," Ares said. He was told that it would be another couple of centons until the remaining fighters were aboard. "When their aboard set in a course away from the contacts."

"Commander, the contacts have begun to move towards our position. At their current speed they will arrive shortly after we recover the fighters," Renee said to Ares.

Ares turned to Pratt and they both knew that this was not good news. He wondered what he should do and what options were available to him if any. The only thing that ran through his mind was run or fight.

"Suggestions," Ares finally said.

"We could try and communicate with them commander," Pratt said stating the obvious.

"Do it," Ares replied.

After a few moments there was no reply from the incoming ships. Ares ordered them to continue to try but to bring the ship to yellow alert just in case. He was about to start the fight, but he had to be ready just in case.

"Sir, they are asking for our surrender," Renee said to Ares who just shook his head. He wondered what Nall and Jax had done on the planet's surface to provoke such hostility.

"Transfer it up here," Ares told her as he was able to hear the demand. A Captain Ryan was demanding that he surrender his ship and the 'Nationalist' spies. He realized what was probably going on and switched on his communicator. "This is Commander Ares of the Battlestar Argo, we are not from the Nationalists, but a group that has travel far to reach this place."

"Your lies will not work on us Nationalist pigs, you will surrender your ship to us along with your crew, or you will suffer the wrath of the Alliance," Captain Ryan replied.

"Sounds like they have their minds made up commander," Pratt said.

"They've opened fire on our returning vipers," Renee said. "Lieutenant Nall is requesting permission to return fire."

"Launch green squadron, maybe they will be enough to dissuade them from attacking," Ares said.

* * *

Troy sat in his viper waiting to see what was going on. So far the only thing that he was aware of was the ship was on yellow alert. His squad was on the ready alert with red on back up.

"Green squad, you are to launch but not engage yet," Renee said breaking Troy out of his thoughts.

"Roger core command," Troy said as he pushed his thumb down on the thruster button and felt the ship accelerate out of the launch tube.

As Troy's viper reached space his scanners came alive with Nall and Jax's vipers as they raced towards the Argo. Behind them were four patrol sized ships were chasing them. He could hear Nall saying that they were under attack requesting permission to fire back. Troy wondered what was taking the commander so long to respond to the request. Two of their own were in danger.

"Green squad, form up on me and head towards the incoming fighters," Troy said. The group formed up and headed out to greet the incoming ships.

"Core command, do we have permission to open fire or am I going to see some of my squad mates blow to Hades," Troy said hoping to push the issue.

"Green squad, your orders have not changed," Renee replied relaying Ares' orders.

"Great," Troy mumbled a bit under his breath but not loud enough for anyone else to hear it.

* * *

"Captain, we are picking up multiple single man craft coming from the larger ship," the scanner operator said to Captain Ryan.

"These single craft have no weapon systems, tell all destroyers to continue to attack. Head to the big ship and ready all weapons," Ryan replied.

"Understood sir," the crew replied as the communications officer relayed the message to the other three destroyers.

Ryan glanced at the screen and realized that the ship they were about to enter combat with was a very large ship. To him though it did not really matter. He had numbers and superior firepower compared to Nationalist ships. He would either bring back the Nationalists as his prisoners or they would be destroyed. To him it really was that simple.

"Captain, I'm counting about fifty of these small one man craft," the scanner operator said.

"They are nothing more than blockade and spy ships. Destroy them as well, but concentrate all firepower on the larger ship for right now. The Nationalists must not know what is going on at Praxis five," Ryan said.

* * *

Ares stood watching the incoming ships. He still was not sure what was going on but the launching of the vipers had not deterred the incoming ship. They were still closing and firing on green squad. He now had several pilots requesting permission to return fire. The Argo was suddenly rocked a bit as the incoming ship opened fire on the battlestar.

"Commander, we're under attack. I suggest negative shield," Pratt said.

"Put the shields up," Ares said. So far the incoming ships had refused to acknowledge any more hails from the Argo and now they were attacking them as well.

"Captain, we just lost green eleven," Pratt told him. He knew that given everything he would not be able to control the pilots much longer.

"Tell all stations to open fire," Ares said finally.

"Yes sir," Pratt said turning to the communicator. "All stations, fire at will, repeat fire at will."

* * *

"You heard the commander," Troy said as he lined up the first ship in his sight. Pushing his thumb down on the weapons trigger his weapons opened fire on the ship.

The Argo's weapon systems also came to life opening up on the attackers with deadly accuracy. The attackers did not have the weaponry or shielding that the Colonials did and the battle was over very quickly. All four enemy ships were destroyed with the loss of another three vipers.

Troy was glad when the last enemy ship had been destroyed. They attacked them without any real reason. He just wished that he had been able to open fire a bit sooner. Thinking back on what had happened he realized the pressure that the commander had been under. They might have just declared war against an unknown enemy.

"Everyone back on board the Argo," Troy said to the squad. They quickly regrouped and made their landing on the battlestar. He was glad to see that Bri and Nall had made it as well.

* * *

Ares sat at his station wondering if he could have done something different. He would have to study what happened to see if he could learn anything from it. He was sure that this was not going to be the first time that he had an encounter like this.

"What do you think colonel," Ares asked.

"We lost a total of four pilots along with three others in the battle," Pratt said.

"And all four attackers," Ares said. Even after realizing that they were against superior firepower they continued to attack. It just did not make since to him.

"They fought till the end. They may have a different type of mentality then what we're used to. Perhaps we are too used to the Cylons and their ways," Pratt said as an answer.

"Perhaps we are," Ares replied. "Perhaps there was no way to avoid bloodshed."

"Then again maybe if we had attacked right away they might have backed down," Pratt said.

"Perhaps Pratt," Ares said with a sad sigh. Then with a deep breath he rose. "Helm, set course to the next system and engage at light speed. I'm going to go grab something to eat. Let me know when Nall and Jax get out of detox for their briefing."

"Yes sir," Pratt said.

* * *

"Captain," a junior officer said running into the office.

"Report," Captain Jonas said as he turned to look at the junior officer.

"We lost contact with all four destroyers," the officer said.

"All four," Jonas replied.

"Yes sir, and the remaining ship was seen heading in the direction of Terra" the replay came.

"Inform Terra and let them know that we've been attacked by Nationalists," Jonas replied watching as the officer left to carry out his orders.

The Nationalist will pay for what they have done here today Jonas thought to himself. Many in the higher command had been looking for a way to begin a war against the Nationalist and now they had their reason. The battle plan would be simple. They would destroy the colony worlds of the Nationalists then destroy them on Terra until there was just the Alliance left.

The only thing that worried him was the fact they had lost four destroyers to one ship. But if they only had one then it would be much of a difference. One ship cannot be everywhere like their destroyers were. He smiled as he realized it would be a glorious war indeed.

Continued in The Gods


	8. Chapter 8: The Gods Part I

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**The Gods**

Bri and Troy walked along the corridor as they headed to the briefing room. It was red squads turn to take the next planet but he liked to know what was going on. He would be present to red squads briefing much like Gunther was at green squad's briefing. He had gained a bit of respect for the other captain as he was a hard worker and willing to put his life on the line for someone else.

There was the normal rivalry between the two squads but each held the other in mutual respect, at least outside the Tri-ade court that was. There were several teams on board the ship to help with the down time. That and another transmission from the colonies had been received. So far everything had been normal just like normal.

A few people like Troy had received messages from loved ones. That usually improved moral even though they could not reply back at all. It was the thought of someone back at the Colonies thinking about them was comforting somehow.

Troy turned into the briefing room with Bri right behind him. She had wanted to head on over and get something to eat but he wanted to come here first. She had decided to come along and wait.

Their relationship had grown back after a lengthy talk about Martin. Bri had been angry at him for that. But when he explained everything just last night she seemed to sleep on it and was in a better mood towards him. He was glad that she was no longer mad at him. Bri was one person that he did not want mad at him.

He had watched too many times lately as Nall got the wrong side of her attitude. So far the poor guy had run into a doorframe, tripped in front of everyone, and had his voice taped while having sex all with the help of Bri. The guy took it all in stride and did not seem to affect his moral or his relationships with the women on board. He shook his head slightly at the thought.

"What are you thinking about," Bri asked.

"Nall, I can't believe you pushed him into the doorframe," Troy said.

"I was merely walking though the door with him," Bri replied innocently.

"Yeah, with you holding his ear," Troy said. "If I didn't know any better I'd say he likes it, perhaps he gets off on it."

"Eww," Bri replied scrunching up her face at that thought. "Thanks for a mental image I did not need."

"No problem," Troy said then focused his attention on the commander who had walked into the room.

* * *

Ares walked into the room and noticed that Bri was sitting in the room. He knew that she was part of green squadron and not red but it seemed like more and more pilots of the other squad would listen in to the conversations. This one would seem routine compared to the last couple of missions. At least he hoped that it would go smoother than the last one.

"Lieutenants Tanner and Zac, you're flying patrol to the upcoming system," Ares said to the two men. "Your orders are simple, just observe what type of planet's are in the system and if any have intelligent life on it. Once you return back tot he Argo we will decide what the next step will be."

Ares and Pratt had talked it over about what to do if another encounter with an alien race happened. The decision was for the patrol to pull back and wait to see what type of reaction the aliens gave. That would determine if the Argo would leave or not. It was a hard decision but Ares wanted to avoid another disaster like they had just encountered.

"I want all of you to remember that if you encounter a alien ship head back to the Argo. Once you report back then we will decide what to do. Also if there is any intelligent life on any of the planets just report back to the Argo and we will decide what to do later," Ares told the group. This part was a bit different then the last patrol but they had learned a few lessons.

Tanner and Zac left the room to head to their vipers to begin the patrol. Ares left and headed to the bridge to watch how the patrol went. So far they had had very few patrols that did not have anything exciting to learn. He was ready for a patrol that did not uncover anything for a change.

* * *

Bri and Troy left the room knowing that the last part of the briefing was new. He would have to inform his squad about the changes that had happened. Troy could understand why the changes had been made. The last thing any of them wanted was a new war with another race.

"Do you think we've left that group called the Alliance behind," Bri asked as she had hot heard anything about what happened after the fight.

"I don't know, we either just skirted the edge of their Empire or we are headed right into it," Troy replied. He really hoped that they were not headed into the Alliance space.

"Come on, let's get something to eat, I'm starving," Bri said tugging Troy along with her. They would find out what was in the system later after the patrol and if there was anything of importance.

They found themselves at the cafeteria and Bri grabbed her breakfast putting more food on her plate than Troy did. Her small size hid a vivacious appetite. She could out eat several larger men and yet she managed to burn off all that energy. Troy put some bread on his plate along with some fruit that the still had.

He wondered about the food supply and how much more they had. So far he had not heard anything about their supplies reaching a critical stage. He guessed that they still had enough at the moment. Perhaps one of the planets that they encounter might have some food which they might be able to barter for.

They sat down and were joined by Nall. He seemed to be in his usual mood even though he still had a bit of a bruise on his forehead.

"How's the head," Troy asked.

"Still hurts, want to kiss and make it feel better," Nall replied looking right at Bri.

"That's what got you that in the first place,"' Bri replied.

Troy just groaned as the two continued to banter back and forth. He sometimes wondered how Martin had ever handled it.

* * *

"Commander, we have a problem here," Renee said not looking up from her scanner.

Ares walked down to where she was sitting and inquired what was going on. From the sound of her voice he was sure that it was no good.

"I've lost contact with the patrol," she told him.

"Run a scanner check," he ordered quickly.

"Already done," Renee said having already done that before she had called the commander over. She had been hoping that it was a computer glitch but now it did not look like that was the case.

Ares was not sure he liked this one. They had been lucky the last time a patrol had gone missing, this time it seemed a bit different. His gut feeling was that something was going to happen this time. It was what was going to happen that he did not know.

"Have Captain Troy assemble a team to inspect the area," Ares replied. "Have them keep in constant contact with us just in case. He's squad has had experience with this before."

Pratt left the bridge to find the captain and tell him the news. He was sure that Troy was not going to like it too much. Ares remained on the bridge wondering if he would ever have a patrol that did not encounter something. Maybe it was to be expected though.

* * *

Troy noticed the colonel making his way to where he was sitting and knew that something was up. By the look on the colonel's face Troy could tell that it was no good whatever had happened. Part of him wanted the colonel to walk on by but knew that was not going to happen.

"Colonel," Troy said as the man came up to where they were.

"Captain, you're needed in the briefing room along with a team of your choosing," Pratt told him watching as the captain and everyone else sighed.

"Yes sir," Troy said as Pratt walked off. "Well, I guess you two are part of my team as well," he said to Bri and Nall.

"Great, knew I should have sat somewhere else," Nall said.

"Find Jax as well, we'll make it a four man team," Troy said. He was not sure how many people to take so he decided that four would probably be the best.

A short while later they were all sitting down in the briefing room as Colonel Pratt walked in. Usually Ares would be the one giving them their mission so Troy wondered what was going on. He had the feeling that he was not going to like what the commander was going to say to him.

"We have another situation," Pratt said to the four of them. "Another patrol disappeared just a few moments ago while on the way to investigate the latest solar system. Seeing as you have experience in this type of mission your job to find out what happened to the patrol and investigate the threat to the ship, if any."

"Any clues as to what happened," Nall asked.

"None, just that the patrol vanished without a trace. You all know the drill, keep in contact at all times," Pratt told them then dismissed them.

The group left the room and headed towards the launch bay where their vipers would be waiting. Troy could not believe that they would be looking for another lost patrol. The last time they had come across a hidden ship that had been drifting in space. He doubted that the second time they would be so lucky. They would have to keep their eyes open this time for trouble.

The four vipers approached the spot where the patrol had disappeared and found nothing. They moved around a bit hoping to find some trace of the ships but so far they had not found anything yet. There was no trace of any debris or even a distress signal. They could still communicate with the Argo and the Argo still had them on their scanners. Troy had hoped that it was some sort of anomaly in the area that messed with the scanners.

"What about the planets, they might be on one of them," Jax said as she thought about it.

"You and Nall head to the system and see if you spot anything, Bri and I will continue to see if we find anything around here," Troy said.

Nall and Jax turned away from them and headed towards the planets to see if they could spot anything on the surface of the planets. It was a bit of a long shot but at this point Troy was ready to try anything to see if he could get to the bottom of this mystery.

* * *

"Nall, are you reading this," Jax said as she looked at the planet. It was showing that there had been a crash on the planet's surface not that long ago.

"Looks like a crash site," Nall replied. "Captain, we've discovered what looks like a crash site on the planet's surface. We're descending to investigate."

"Keep in contact," Troy replied as the two vipers made their way down through the atmosphere towards the site. Flying over the site they noticed that there appeared to be a small ship that looked to be still intact. Making a decision Nall brought his viper down close to the area along with Jax.

"What do you think," Jax said as she walked up to Nall's viper.

"I'm a bit surprised we even saw it from the atmosphere," Nall replied not sure he like this too much. They continued to walk towards the site and approached the craft cautiously. So far they had not seen anyone else either moving around or lying around.

"Hello, anyone here," Jax called out trying to see if anyone was within shouting distance.

"No need to shout my child," a man's voice said coming from the ship. In the open doorway a figure walked out of the ship. He had on a black robe with gold etched down the middle and sleeves. "I'm not deaf you know."

"Oh, sorry, I didn't know if anyone was here or not," Jax said as a way of an apology.

"Are you travelers," the man asked with some curiosity in his voice.

"You might say that," Nall replied.

"You're not from this planet then," the man said.

"Nope, why," Nall asked.

"I haven't seen anyone intelligent on this planet yet but one can never be sure. Do you think that you can help me out here," the man said.

"What seems to be the problem," Jax asked.

"Well you see my dear child I was traveling though the system when my engines malfunctioned. I was forced to land here and I'm afraid that my radio was damaged in the crash. The engines won't handle a long flight and I don't have the equipment to properly fix the problem," the man said.

Nall radioed the Argo to see if they would take on a small ship with one passenger. Ares was a bit hesitant to allow the man on board but decided that he might have information they could use and allowed him permission.

"My commander has granted you permission to come aboard our ship. We'll see if we have anything that can help you repair your ship," Nall said. "What is your name?"

"I go by many names but you may call me Able," the man said.

"All right Able, if you'll follow our ships we'll take you to our ship," Nall said to Able.

* * *

Troy and Bri continued their flight around the area that they had lost the other patrol. So far there had been nothing out of the ordinary that would account for a lost patrol. They had come across no wreckage or anything else that might come close to solving the mystery of what had happened to the patrol. Troy glanced at his fuel and realized that they should be heading back to the Argo.

"Let's head back Bri, we didn't find anything," he said to her. She acknowledged and they began the return flight back to the Argo. Troy was also curious to meet the stranger that they had picked up.

Troy was sure that Ares would ask the stranger if he knew of anything that might account for them losing their patrol. Secretly Troy hoped that the stranger knew something about where Earth was or perhaps was from Earth. There were a lot of different things that could happen in the next little bit. He just hoped that it was good.

The vipers landed and he was greeted by the hanger crew who went to work on his viper making sure that it was ready for its next flight. Troy and Bri made their way up to the debriefing room where Ares or Pratt would be waiting for them. Troy was silently disappointed that Colonel Pratt was waiting for him. He would have liked to talk with the commander before meeting the stranger.

"I take it that you did not find anything," Pratt asked once they were seated.

"Sorry colonel. There was nothing there that we even encountered that might explain the disappearance of the patrol," Troy replied.

"Didn't think so," Pratt replied before continuing. "Our new passenger, Able, said that this area is full of strange occurrences and that our patrol probably encountered one of these anomalies."

"I didn't detect anything on my scanners that would be an anomaly or anything else," Troy said not sure about what Able had told them.

"Neither has the Argo's scanners," Pratt replied. "Personally the quicker he's off the ship the better I'll feel."

"Oh," Troy replied wondering what had caused that. "What's he like."

"He's a stuck up arrogant snob to me," Pratt replied as he recalled his first meeting with the man. "The commander seems to share my feelings but it seems like a couple of the crewmembers have taken to him."

"Really," Bri asked wondering what the man looked like.

"Jax and Renee have taken to him. Nall I don't know, but then again I can't really figure him out anyways," Pratt replied.

"I'll find out," Bri said knowing that she would be able to talk with Nall about anything.

"Is he a threat," Troy asked.

"I don't think so, just arrogant enough to think he knows everything," Pratt replied his annoyance at the man coming though.

"Is he a threat to the ship," Troy asked wondering about the man.

"Don't think so, just real uppity," Pratt said. "You'll see when you meet him."

"What does the commander think of him," Bri asked.

"He's open minded but I think he feels the same way as me. The quicker we get him off the ship the better for everyone," Pratt said to the two of them before finally dismissing them. Bri and Troy decided that they would head to the rec room and see what was going on for themselves.

* * *

Entering the rec room Bri and Troy quickly found Nall sitting over by himself. On the other side of the room was a group of people along with another older man who they had never seen before. Troy figured that he must be the stranger Able.

The two of them made their way over to where Nall was sitting and sat down. Nall did not seem like his normal self at the moment. To Bri it almost seemed as if her friend was pouting a bit.

"Hey Nall," she said as they sat down.

"Sure you wouldn't rather sit with our great guest over there," Nall said nodding his head in the direction of Able.

"Nah," Bri replied as she studied Nall for a second. Something was definitely bothering him but she could not put her finger on it. Troy glanced around the room and realized that it was a bit strange. He thought about what was missing before realizing what it was.

"All the girls have abandoned you," Troy said as he looked back and forth. Most of the people around Able were women along with a few men.

"Ha-ha," Nall replied but knew that it was the truth. He had never had so much trouble with women than now. He had the feeling that their guest was more than he appeared. But no one would listen to him except maybe the colonel. He had seen the look Pratt had given them when they came aboard.

"And who might you two be," a voice said breaking into their conversation. They looked up to see Able standing there at their table.

"Able I assume," Troy said looking at the man waiting to see what was going to happen.

"Yes, you seem to have me at a disadvantage. You know my name but I don't know yours," Able said with a smile on his face.

"Troy," he replied as Able turned to look at Bri.

"And this wonderful creature," Able asked looking at Bri.

"Gabrielle," she replied. Troy noticed that she did not use her shortened name and he wondered about that.

"A lovely name," he said. "Why don't you come and join us," he told them with a sweep of his arms.

Bri glanced at Troy to see what he thought of Able and if he was going to accept his invitation. She really hoped that he would not but Troy seemed to have a bit of a distant look on his face at the moment. It finally cleared and the look that he leveled at Able was not kind.

"I think you should leave us," Troy finally said his eyes boring into Able.

"Be careful what game you play young one," Able replied very softly then turned and walked back to the group that was on the other side.

"What was that about," Nall asked having witness the exchange. He had never seen his friend with so much malice towards one person before.

"I don't think our new 'friend' has any intentions of leaving," Troy said.

"You mean he's going to be here a while," Bri said trying to make since of what he had just said.

"No, he's an alien for sure, but it's almost as if he lives off others," Troy said not really sure of it himself.

"Perhaps you should talk with the commander," Bri replied.

"Yes, I think I should before it's too late," Troy said excusing himself and went in search of the commander.

Bri and Nall watched him go and wondered exactly what Troy had seen. They both knew about Troy's abilities to see events of possible futures. They could only hope that it was not a bad one.

* * *

Troy walked onto the bridge and found the commander standing there looking at the monitors with a perplexed look on his face. Taking a look at the monitors he saw what Ares was seeing. On the monitor were several bright lights zipping around the ship.

"Commander," Troy said as he walked up to Ares.

"Troy," Ares replied not looking away from the monitors. "Any idea as to what these are?"

Troy gave the strange glowing lights a hard look. They were not like anything he had ever seen, nor had he ever had a vision with them before. He told Ares the truth that he did not know where they had come from nor did he know what they were.

"They are the one who are responsible for your missing pilots," a voice said from behind them. Both men recognized the voice almost right away as belonging to Able.

"Thought you didn't have any idea as to how our pilots went missing," Ares said turning to the other man.

"These lights are mentioned in my history," Able said. "They take people for their own purpose and brainwash them. Be extra careful commander."

"Bri and I will check them out commander," Troy said knowing that they had just been on patrol but volunteering anyways.

"That seems to be the best idea," Ares replied as he thought about it a bit more.

"You and I both know it," Troy said. His abilities might come in handy and he still had to talk with the Ares about Able.

"All right," Ares said then turning to Able. "And you should not be on my bridge."

"All I did was ask for a tour from my new friends," Able replied. Ares could see Renee and Jax as two of the people standing behind Able. He spared them a glance as they should have known better. He was becoming more and more concerned about his new passenger.

"Have you talked to our engineer about fixing your ship," Ares asked him. That was the main reason the man gave for wanting to come aboard.

"In due time commander," Able said then with a flourish he turned to leave the bridge.

"Lieutenant Jax, Renee, may I have a word with you in my office," Ares said before they too could turn and leave. Ares watched as they almost seemed to turn to look at Able. "That was an order from a superior officer. Our guest doesn't have that authority," Ares said watching as Able turned around to glare at him. Ares returned it and knew that the man was going to be trouble.

"I should get going commander," Troy said and with a nod from Ares he left the bridge passing Able on the way.

Continued in The Gods Part 2


	9. Chapter 9: The Gods Part II

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**The Gods Part 2**

Bri was not too excited by the idea of going out again so soon. She had just gotten something to eat and was heading to her bunk when Troy had caught up with her and told her what they were going to be doing. With a sigh she followed Troy back down to the launch bay to her viper.

"When we are done with this I'm going off duty for a week," she said.

"Don't fall asleep on me just yet, we still have to worry about that Able character," Troy said.

"About him, what did you see," Bri asked.

"Death and destruction," Troy said. "I'm not sure if it is ours or someone else's. But I do feel that everyone he touches he brings death with him."

"Nice guy," Bri said. "I knew there was a reason I didn't like him too much."

"That reminds me, why didn't you say your name was Bri," Troy asked her.

"Bri is only for people who know me. Ask Nall about it, took him a yehren before I allowed him to call me that," Bri replied.

"Then I guess I should feel honored," Troy said as they approached their vipers.

"Yes, you should," she said then sauntered off to her viper leaving Troy watching her swaying backside. With a mental effort he shook his head and went over to his viper.

A few moments later the two vipers launched to see if they could intercept the strange glowing white lights/ships or whatever they were.

* * *

"Hey Thes," one of the engineers said as he came on duty in the engine room. Glancing around he noticed that several people were missing from their duty stations. "Where is everyone?"

"I'm not sure," Thes replied. "I haven't been able to get in touch with any of them. Their roommates say that they are not there."

"I think we should inform the commander," the first one said.

"Isn't that a bit extreme Zcir," Thes asked him.

"Yes, if we can't control the crew under us then we need to inform the commander so he can see if there is something going on," Zcir replied. "The engines are one area that cannot be neglected. Much like the helm of the ship. They are relying on us to make sure that nothing goes wrong otherwise we could all be in trouble."

"All right, I'll send the report to the commander and see if he knows of anything that might of happened," Thes said.

"The only thing I know of is we received a visitor not long ago," Zcir said. He figured that his missing people were probably there but he did not have the time to go and look for them. He could not neglect the engines even though they were running just fine.

sssss

Ares waited until Jax and Renee sat down before telling them why they were there. They both looked a bit curious about why he wanted to see them.

"Do you two know why I called you in here," Ares asked them wanting to know what had happened.

"Not really commander," Jax replied first as Renee nodded her head in agreement.

"You two are both Colonial warriors right," he asked watching as they both nodded their heads. "And you're on board a Colonial warship," he asked again watching as they agreed with him. "Then you also know that it's against regulations for a civilian to gain access to the bridge without the knowledge of the commander."

"Yes sir," Renee replied a bit quietly.

"But sir, we're so far away from the Colonies does regulations like that really matter," Jax asked.

"That's a good point Jax, but also remember that if we forget our own rules and regulations then if a real threat happens and we are lax in such things it could mean our destruction," Ares said pinning them both with a stare. He watched as they pondered what he had just said.

"We should have gotten permission first," Renee said at last.

"But Able wanted to see the bridge and he made it sound like we were not doing anything wrong," Jax said to Ares who listened to that very carefully. He was not sure he liked what he read between the lines of what Jax had just said.

"I want you two to do something for me," Ares said watching as they nodded their heads. "It seems like our guest is having no trouble making friends, but I want you to watch to see how easily people are manipulated by him."

"You think he might be a danger to the Argo," Jax asked not sure she believed what she had just heard.

"At the moment yes," Ares replied. "But that is because he has given me no reason to trust him yet."

"Perhaps if you talked with him," Renee relied.

"I have already Renee, remember," Ares said thinking back to his first encounter with the man. He knew that Colonel Pratt did not like the man, but he tried to keep an open mind about everything. "I'm still making up my mind about him. Now you are dismissed but I want to see you at your stations later on."

The replied that they would and left the room. He really hoped that he would. He picked up the first piece of news and sighed. Getting up he went in search of Able who he had the feeling would be at the center of what he had just read.

* * *

"I'm beginning to feel a bit inadequate in what I'm seeing here," Bri said as she watched another white light pass her then make what looked like an impossible turn and move past her again.

"I know what you mean," Troy said as he watched one of the lights do the same thing to him. He was not able to keep up with any of the lights nor did they appear on any of his scanners. So far the only good thing was they had not been fired upon.

"Have you been able to track them on your scanners," Bri asked after a few more minutes of chasing the lights around.

"No, I do better just trying to keep up with my eyes," Troy replied as he continued to watch the strange white lights.

"Do you hear that," Bri suddenly said as a high pitched sound suddenly began to fill her cockpit.

"No, wait, yes I do," Troy said as he began to wince from the sound as the volume of it continued to rise.

The two pilots forgot about the while lights they were supposed to be chasing as the sound continued to grow in volume. They tried everything they could think of to block it out but the only thing that worked was when they finally blacked out never seeing the large white crystal looking ship that was right behind them.

* * *

Ares walked down towards the rec room where he figured he would find who he was looking for. Walking inside he saw what he thought. Several people along with their guest Able seemed to be enjoying themselves quite a bit. He quickly scanned the room and was relieved when he did not see Jax or Renee.

"Is there something wrong commander," Able said from where he was sitting.

"Yes there is," Ares said as he looked around and spotted the people he was looking for and walked over to them. "Are you suppose to be on duty," he asked them. He watched as they looked from him back to Able.

"They are welcome to stay a bit longer, as you are commander," Able replied.

Ares narrowed his eyes at Able as he heard the reply that the man gave. Looking around he could tell that the man had gained some control over several crewmembers. Walking up to where Able was sitting he waited a few microns before saying anything else.

"Last I remember I was in command of the Argo, not you," Ares said to the man who did not flinch then turned to the group of people who should have been on duty. "I think you have duties to perform."

"Yes sir," they finally replied and walked out of the room and towards their duty stations. With one last look at Able he turned and walked out of the room. He would have to keep a close eye on the man in case the situation got any worse. He also had the feeling that he should get rid of the man as quickly as possible.

"Bridge to Commander Ares," a voice said over the intercom. Ares walked over to where the com line was and picked it up.

"Commander Ares here what's going on," Ares asked as he listened to what Pratt told him. With a shake of his head he put the com line down to make his way to the bridge.

"Like I said, they are responsible for what is happening. Don't trust them," Able said to Ares from where he was sitting. Ares turned and looked on last time at the man then walked out of the room. He was beginning to get the impression that the man had very high mental abilities.

* * *

Troy slowly became aware of his surrounding as his consciousness came back to him. He was not sure if was awake or not because the only thing he was able to see was white. He tried to recall the last thing that he could remember happening to him. He was flying in his viper watching the white ships fly around him like he was standing still. Had they opened fire on him and if so was this heaven then. He figured that it might explain why he was wearing a white uniform at the moment.

He pushed himself up into a sitting position to hopefully get a better look of what was around. Things came into focus a bit better now even though everything was still white. The table he was lying on was a clear white color that he could see and feel. He noticed what appeared to be a doorway along one of the walls. Making up his mind he made his way over to see if he could find anyone who he could talk to.

Troy had to look around as the fact that everything was white seemed to disorient him a bit. He walked down what he thought was a corridor and found another doorway. Peering inside he noticed that Bri was lying on a table in a room much like the one he had woken up in. She was also dressed in a white uniform as well. Walking inside the room he quickly went over to check to make sure that she was all right.

Troy could tell that she was alive, or at least alive relative to where they were by the rising and falling of her chest. Giving her a shake of her shoulder he tried to wake her up. Bri merely grunted and turned onto her side and continued to not wake up. He figured that she was probably not a light sleeper like he was. Shaking her a little bit more he finally saw her green eyes open. She blinked a few times before her consciousness finally caught up with what she was seeing in front of her.

"Troy," Bri said not fully sure of where she was. Glancing around she noticed like Troy that everything was white including their clothing. "What, where," she started to ask but not really sure what to say.

"I don't know either," Troy replied to her before she could fully regain her speaking abilities and bombard him with questions.

"Are we dead," Bri finally asked him no knowing that it was the same question that Troy had asked himself not too long ago.

"I have no idea," Troy replied honestly. "The last thing I remember was being in my viper and hearing a noise. I guess I blacked out shortly after that."

"Then we might be in their ship," Bri said. "Though why we're wearing white clothing I don't know?"

"Unless we are dead," Troy said.

"Either way we should probably see about finding out where we are," Bri said as she hopped off the table she was on and headed toward the exit that Troy had just come in at.

* * *

Ares quickly found himself back on the bridge making his way over to where Colonel Pratt was standing next to the flight controller of the moment. Pratt noticed him walking onto the ridge and waited until he was standing next to him to say anything.

"We've done scanner sweeps of the entire area and can't find anything out there that might be responsible," Pratt said. "They have simply vanished like red patrol did earlier."

"Great, between that and our mysterious visitor, who I'm beginning to think knows more and can do more than he is telling us I'm wondering if we shouldn't have just skipped this system," Ares said rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"Should we try to send out a new patrol," Pratt asked. His first instinct was to send another patrol out there but had decided to talk it over with the commander first.

"I don't know about that," Ares replied as he thought about it. "I'd rather not lose another patrol if we can help it."

"I know that's why I haven't order anyone out there yet and I went for a more intensive scan of the area," Pratt replied.

"We'll wait and see what happens next," Ares said finally. I want at least twenty pilots on ready alert at all times just in case."

"Yes sir," Pratt replied and left to relay his orders.

* * *

Troy and Bri cautiously walked down the hallway not sure what to expect. So far they had not found anything that they might be able to use to determine the identity of where they were. The other part that bothered Troy was the lack of people or other type of aliens that if they were on board a ship should be present.

"Hello," a voice said from behind them causing them both to jump and turn in alarm.

Standing behind them was an elderly gentleman dressed in white as well. He did not seem to be alarmed at their presence and waited patiently for one of them to say something to him.

"Who are you," Troy asked finding his voice first.

"You may call me John," the man replied to them. "And you are Captain Troy and Lieutenant Gabrielle, or Bri, of the ship Argo."

"Okay, it seems as if you have us at a disadvantage here. You know us but we don't know you," Troy replied.

"Yes, but your ship has created quite a mess since its arrival in this area," John said.

"Mess, I'm not sure I understand," Troy said wondering what was going on.

"It seems that your last encounter with the people of Terra is going to cause a war. We need you to stop it," John replied.

"Hey, we didn't start that one. And we told them several times not to attack us," Bri said stepping up into the conversation.

"Yes we know, but now we need you to stop the war," John replied.

"Why don't you," Troy asked.

"Because we cannot get involved," John replied.

"You mean won't," Troy replied figuring out that he was on board a ship. They were an advanced alien lifeform. He know that with every form of intelligent life there was a mind game going on inside.

John peered at Troy for a second before turning back to Bri then his face returned to the normal look he had before. "You're different then the others," John said to Troy.

"If you mean that I am a seer then yes," Troy replied.

"That explains it," John said but did not indulge any further. "Still you must intervene before its too late and millions of lives are lost."

Troy was about to speak when he remember his own vision of the destruction fo the fleet and the colonies that he had before leaving on this mission. If that happened then billions would be lost to save a few million.

"I'm sorry, but there is more at stake then you realize. We cannot stop our mission," Troy replied to the man.

"You would sacrifice millions of lives," John asked not sure he understood what the man was saying.

"To hopefully save billions, yes," Troy replied not backing down. "If you want to save those millions then intervene yourselves, otherwise release us back to our ships, and the other two as well," Troy told the man as Bri looked at him. He was sure she had some questions but they would have to wait.

"Then I guess you are savages," John said making Bri bristle but not Troy.

"Savages, you expect us to do your work and you call us the savages," Bri said not sure she really liked where this conversation was going. "You seem to be quite powerful, why don't you use your superior intellect to figure out a way to stop it without interfering and using others to do it, unless your not as smart as you claim," she said starting to warm up to her topic of conversation.

Troy took her by the arm and turned her around for a second. "Calm down Bri, technology wise we are a bit savage compared to them," he told her.

"But that's an insult," Bri said still wanting to argue.

"I said technology wise, not intellectually," Troy said watching as Bri caught on and she visibly relaxed then turned back around to see John still standing there. "Sorry, she gets a bit upset when she thinks someone has insulted her."

John merely looked at the two of them like they were crazy. Troy stepped closer to the man away from Bri and John waited to see what was going to happen.

"If I were you I wouldn't do that again. She's quite a spitfire when riled up and I'd hate to see something happen to you," Troy replied. "You're probably evolved enough to read our minds and grow beyond your physical bodies but that would not stop her."

John looked at Troy then back at Bri and realized that Troy was speaking the truth. The woman might look small and vulnerable but she had a mean streak in her that rivaled anyone else he had ever come across. John glanced up and for a few more moments he stood there like that. Troy noticed that Bri seemed to be getting impatient and he put his hand on her arm again.

"Their talking," he told her.

"They better let us go," Bri said.

"Yeah, or I just let you off your leash then," Troy said with a smile as he got a back hand in his stomach. "That's not nice," he said with a pout.

"Keeping me on a leash," Bri said narrowing her eyes at him even though a small smile came to her lips. "Just wait until we're out of this one."

"I'll look forward to it then," he whispered and turned back to John before Bri could reply back to that.

"We'll let you go for now," John said.

* * *

Nall could not believe it as he sat in the briefing room for the pilots. They were on ready alert but against what the colonel had been quite about. He had heard rumors of ships of light that Bri and Troy had gone out and disappeared against. He was sitting close enough to where he could heard the conversation going on behind him between Jax and another pilot.

"Able said that he would bring back our missing pilots," the one said to Jax.

"I don't think he has that much power," Jax replied.

"Why not, you used to think he might," the other pilot said.

"That was before," Jax said. Ever since her talk with the commander she had been looking at Able in a different way. The man seemed to be manipulative in a strange way. Now that she could see it a bit more she was concerned that the commander's concerns might be real.

"I don't have any doubts that he will be able to return them. That and he will be able to protect us from them as well," the pilot said.

"I have a feeling that they'll return, but not by Able's abilities," Jax replied.

Colonel Pratt entered the room at that moment and by the look on his face he had the feeling that it was god news. He would have to tell someone in command about what had been going on with their visitor. There was just something there that irritated Nall.

"Settle down," he said as the voices of the pilots faded away. "Now all of you probably know about the missing pilots. But they have reappeared on our scanners and are currently returning to the Argo. We won't know what happened until they land but we are remaining on alert standby just in case."

Nall listened to what the colonel said as was a bit glad to hear that the fighters were returning. He had been worried that he might be losing his friends so early in the mission. He hoped that they were returning and that it was not someone one else who had taken over the fighters. He would have to wait and see.

* * *

Ares waited in his ready room for the pilots to arrive so he could hear their story. A knock on his door made him look up. It was a bit early for the pilots to arrive after the detox they were supposed to go though. He gave permission for the person to enter. Able walked into the room much to Ares disappointment.

"I thought that perhaps my council might be welcome in this situation," he said to Ares.

"And why might that be," Ares replied wondering what the man was up to.

"Because they have been captured by an alien race that you know nothing about," Able said as he made himself comfortable in a chair.

"I've heard rumors that you said that you're responsible for the return of my warriors," Ares said.

"In a way that is true. As long as I am on board your ship they won't attack you directly," Able said.

"And why would they attack us," Ares said as he leaned towards Able.

"You are in their space," Able replied. "They don't like it when others come around."

"I thought you didn't know anything about them," Ares said remembering the other conversations with Able and what the man had told him.

"It's all relative in what we think," Able replied. "I don't expect you to fully understand with your thinking right now."

Ares was about to reply when the door chimed and in walked Colonel Pratt along with Troy, Bri and the other two pilots of red squad. None of the people who walked in was amused at seeing Able sitting there in the chair. Ares had the feeling that they did not like the man any more than he did.

"I must ask you to leave. You are our guest but I think you should begin talking with our engineer about fixing your ship," Ares said leaving out that he was running out of patience with the man.

"Very well, but having me leave now will hinder your mission to Earth," Able said.

"No, if you stay it will only end in death," Troy said evenly.

"And what do you know about it," Able snarled as he got up. "You and your visions are nothing. I can command elements that you only dream of in your limited mind."

"I think you better leave the room," Ares said with an air of authority.

"Fine, but you'll wish you had listened to me later on," Able replied as he left the room.

'Well, that was interesting," Bri replied as she plopped down in a chair. She was tired and ready to go to bed, or eat. She could not make up her mind at the moment. Perhaps she could do both at the same time.

"Have a seat," Ares said to the others as he eyed Bri. She reminded him of a little girl who had not gotten her way and wondered what was up with her.

"I'll make it brief, for our sakes," Troy said casting a look at Bri. "She's hungry and tired and I don't want to be at the end of her temper."

"Begin," Ares said as he listened to Troy explain what happened.

Ares kept silent as he listened. Whoever the beings in the ships were they wanted them to go back to fix something that they really did not create but were a part of. The part that caught Ares attention was the inability of the aliens to interfere even though they were so involved in everything.

"It's almost as if they are acting as gods but not wanting to directly interfere," Ares said after Troy had finished talking.

"Right," Troy replied to his commander.

"So you think our mission is that important," Ares said.

"I do commander. If we are quick about it we might be able to save billions of lives at the expense of millions, otherwise I feel that they are all doom anyways," Troy replied.

"Then we'll stay on course," Ares said as everyone was dismissed. Troy remained behind telling Bri that she should go eat and sleep. He would see her later. She glanced at the commander then back at Troy trying to figure out what was going on before relenting and walking out.

"What's up," Ares asked him knowing that he had something to say to him.

"I got a vision from our new guest," Troy said to Ares who remained quiet. "I saw death, lots of it. The man seemed to be surrounded by it almost as if he enjoys it. I saw him standing at the base of a wreaked ship with three warriors. One of them fired at him which did not harm him. He killed one of the warriors and was forced to leave. Apparently he broke one of their rules."

"Rules," Ares said. That gave him something to think on. If Able had to obey the rules then all he had to do was figure them out.

"It seems so. I had another vision of him with the others in the ships of light and he did not seem too happy," Troy said.

"Thanks," Ares said as he sat down to think about what he had just been told. Troy usually did not tell people about his visions until it was time. This one was dangerous for them all. Is the wreaked ship in Troy's vision his battlestar and the warriors some of the survivors. It was a disturbing vision that was for sure.

Leaning back Ares knew that things with Able were already beginning to get out of hand. The man was already interfering with his commands and the functions of the ship. Is that how he worked? Did he gain the trust of the crew only to kill them later or does he lead them to their doom.

He decided that he would keep an eye on the man and wait until he understood more of the 'rules' that he obeyed. He had the feeling that he could trust Pratt, Troy, and Bri. Perhaps between all of them they could begin to understand the rules and beat him at his own game.

Continued in Legends and Demons


	10. Chapter 10: Legends and Demons

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Legends and Demons**

Ares walked up on the bridge noting that Renee was at her station but there was one person who was not. He sighed a bit and called the rec room knowing that he would be there. He was with Able in what appeared to be a growing cult on board the ship. Renee seemed to still be part of the group that was with Able but seemed to be less than likely to get involved or stray from her job.

A voice replied on the communicator and he asked for the man who should be on duty to report to the bridge. There was some grumbling but at last came an acknowledgement for his orders. Placing the communicator down Ares sighed again as he realized things were getting worse with the Able. He still had not seen the man work on his ship once since he had arrived. The man finally arrived on the bridge of the Argo and Ares took him to the side of the bridge.

"By not reporting to duty you're endangering the entire ship," Ares told him. "Each person has a duty to perform on board. If it was not needed then there would be no reason for you to be here, right?"

"But Lord Able says he will lead and protect us," the man replied.

"Really, I don't see him up here taking your place at your station," Ares said glancing at the man's station. "Do you?"

The man looked at his station and had to reply that he did not. Ares nodded then smiled at the man and gave him a nod of his head to head to his station.

Ares went back to his command chair and pulled up the charts that they had from the long range scans of the area. So far there had been nothing to report for the last couple of days. The only thing he had was the information from home. The Colonies were again in fierce combat with the Cylons.

He reread through the report which noted that the Galactica along with the Pegasus and several other ships had defeated three basestars near the moon of Gamina. It was a strategic point which the Cylons could use to launch attacks on the outer colonized planets of the Colonies. The Galactica has suffered damage and was returning to docks for repairs which would take about a half a yehren but that also included a major refit to the ship.

That left them with five operational battlestars at the moment. He had the feeling that the council would authorize construction of a new group of battlestars soon. The youngest battlestar was two hundred yeherns old. The Galactica was five hundred years old.

Ares glanced again at the scans to see if there was anything that he could see that might be Earth. As he sat there he realized that it would be something that he would probably do quite often in the coming yehrens.

ssss

Doctor Weaver walked into the rec room looking for Captain Troy. He had been going over the inscriptions that they had encountered during their stop at Kobal. During that time he had been able to uncover even more about the thirteenth tribe.

The rec room was full of people that Weaver knew did not often visit the room. He saw a man dressed in white and figured that he must be Able. Many people were talking about him, both good and bad. Weaver did not really have much time for such things as he was usually busy with his work. Spotting Troy sitting with two others he made his way over.

Troy looked up when he noticed someone coming towards him. He saw Weaver coming over and motioned for the man to have a seat. The doctor had been in his laboratory for quite some time now. He wondered if the doctor had found anything that might help them in their search.

"Captain," Weaver said sitting down next to him. "I think I've found something in the records we took from Kobal, but I would like your opinion on it."

"All right," Troy replied to Weaver. "What did you find?"

"Well, I think the walls mention something about a great evil that visited Kobal which set in motion the events that forced the thirteenth tribes to leave the planet," Weaver said.

"Really, sounds interesting," Troy replied as his curiosity was beginning to peak about such a find. The more they knew the more they would be ready for when they finally did find Earth.

"A great evil," Nall asked having heard the conversation. "Wonder what that means."

"The texts don't say but whatever it was it stayed until the end and only then it did not go with the tribes because they had finally recognized it for what it was," Weaver said. "It gets a bit confusing at times and that's why I'm asking for your help captain."

"Well, I guess I can try and help out," Troy said. Two heads were usually better than one and he might see something that the doctor did not.

"We'll come too," Bri said chiming in. She really did not want to be left alone here with Able. The man just set off every bad instinct she had.

"Why not," Weaver said. The more people that he could get to help him the better. "I take it that's Able," he asked with a nod in the man's direction.

"Yeah," Bri said the tone in her voice giving no doubt as to what she thought about him.

"Perhaps we should go before Bri decides to confront him," Nall said getting up along with Bri. They followed Weaver out of the room not seeing that Able's eyes followed them all the way.

sssss

Troy walked into Weaver's laboratory along with the doctor and Bri and Nall. Everything seemed to be in place but he could tell that the man had been in here quite a while by the way things were organized. The computer was near the workstation and the drink next to that.

"Hey doc, when was the last time you left this place," Nall asked him as he looked around.

"I think it was during the attack," Weaver replied.

"Which one," Troy asked back.

"There was more than one," Weaver asked. "The one against the Cylons, Commander Ares had me look at the scans of the Cylons station."

"You missed one then," Bri said as she crossed the lab and sat down.

"I did," Weaver said with a hint of a question in his voice.

"Yeah, we were attacked by another force," Troy replied.

"Oh, well I've been a bit busy lately," Weaver answered.

"Well what is it that you wanted me to see," Troy asked as he walked over to where the printouts of the walls were laid out.

"Right here," Weaver said pointing out the place where he had discovered the writing.

Troy looked it over along with Weaver as they worked a bit to see if they could uncover some of the mystery surrounding this great evil that had visited Kobal. Troy had the feeling that it might solve some of their problems with a lot of different things that were going on now.

sssss

Renee glanced at the time and realized that it was time for her to begin her shift. She had been in the rec room now for a while and was beginning to feel a bit uncomfortable with Able and what he was saying. He promised them a quick journey and they would be hailed as heroes at the end of it by everyone.

For Renee that seemed to be a bit to simple. She had a problem with things that came too simply. Her nature was to get things done by hard work and determination. That was something she had to fight for with each new rank. With her current position as the air boss of the Argo some assumed she had gotten here by how she looked and her relationships with commanding officers. Now Able was sitting there telling them that if they followed him everything would be all right.

Standing up Renee made up her mind to head to her station to begin her work day. She would be a bit early but then again she usually was so it would not seem to be unusual to anyone. That and she was ready to get away from the man.

""My child, you do not seem to share in the other's enthusiasm in my abilities to shorten your journey," Able said as he rose and walked over to where she was standing.

"My life has taught me that you must work at it, only then will you succeed. Your offer is generous but it seems a bit to simple to me," Renee replied honestly.

"And what makes you think I'm not working on it," Able replied.

"I guess you are," Renee said thinking that he probably wanted something in return.

"Yes I am, and there are always payments to be made later when the danger is over," Able said watching Renee's eyes and her reaction.

Renee was sure that she did not like the way Able had phrased that last line. Shaking it off she excused herself again and left to head to the bridge. She was sure that Able was going to be a threat to the ship now. His little group of followers was growing and sooner or later it was going to be a confrontation between the commander of the battlestar and Able.

sssss

Ares watched pleased when Renee came onto the bridge on time. He had been wondering if she would be late because of her hanging around Able. He could see that there was something in the way she moved that seemed to be a bit different almost as if she was not really focused on her job. That could be a bit dangerous if they were doing missions but at the moment nothing had been scheduled just yet.

Ares had heard nothing from Troy or Jax yet about Able so he would have to wait. He thought about taking Renee aside and asking her what was wrong but knew that might just be pushing the problem. He wanted her to come to him not the other way around.

He settled back in his chair and waited as the normal routine of the ship came and went. That brought him to thinking about something else. The crew had been working hard for a while now. He knew that if they were not allowed some rest then they would suffer burnout or even maybe rebel against his command.

Glancing down he looked at the projected course that the Argo was taking. He decided that the next planet he encountered that was suitable he would order some ground leave to everyone. That would allow them to recharge and be rejuvenated for the next part of the voyage.

Ares told Pratt that he was going to retire to his office for a while and walked off the bridge of the ship. He knew that Pratt would keep him informed of anything that would go on. Neither man liked Able so Ares knew that if anything happened with their guest that Pratt would tell him.

Ares sat down at his desk and looked around. He had several small kick-knacks that were on the shelves behind him. He kept his office neat even though there were more things in here than when he served aboard the Pacifica. Looking around he saw the medal of courage he had received during the battle of Petrii Six eight yehrens ago. That had been a heavily contested battle and one in which Commander Cain really established himself as a legend on the battlefield.

Ares wondered where they had gone wrong. What could they have done differently that might have effected the outcome of the war. Cain had told him that the war was going badly for them. Perhaps they needed more ships but the council and the people seemed to be tired of war and so had authorized no more battlestars to be constructed. It seemed like only now they were realizing the error of their ways.

Ares heard the chime that meant someone was outside his door. He called for them to come in. He was only slightly surprised when Renee came walking into the room.

"Commander," she said waiting for Ares to invite her in which he did. She took a seat and fiddled a bit nervously with end of her hair as she tried to figure out what to say to him. She had finally gained the courage to walk into his office but now that she was here she felt a bit foolish.

"Take you time Renee, I know that something is bothering you. I could see it when you walked onto the bridge," Ares told her in a calm voice. Ares was sure it had something to do with their guest, Able.

"Well, I think you might want to keep an even closer eye on Able," Renee said not seeing the raised eyebrow that Ares gave her. "He's been telling the others that if they follow him he will lead them on this mission they will get back to the colonies quicker than without him."

"Really," Ares said leaning back and pondering what that meant. He had the feeling that many people might be listening to them. The signs of a long mission were just beginning to set in but he had faith that he would be able to counter the man's words. If they had encountered Able after a couple of yehrens of traveling then it might be different.

"Yes sir," Renee replied then relayed everything she had heard just before she had left for her duty.

"I think that we'll be just fine Renee," Ares told her. "But remember that we must complete this mission. The consequences of failure are much worse than I think many here know."

"What do you mean," Renee said not really understanding.

"Well," Ares said wondering if he should even tell them. He realized that they should know the truth about what they were doing. "The war against the Cylons has not been going well the last few yehrens. In fact, Commander Cain thinks that without help we might be defeated."

"Defeat," Renee whispered. That was a word that she had just heard whispered among the warriors lately. She had chosen to ignore them but when a commander says it and it's the whole reason for your mission then it brought a whole new meaning. "Then the rumors are not rumors?"

"I'm afraid not," Ares replied. "The council helped decide that by not ordering replacement ships for the fleet to recover loses in the war. I think they now are realizing their mistake but some feel it may be too late."

"But the Argo is a new ship," Renee said not sure she understood that.

"Constructed in secret against the council's wishes," Ares said.

"I see," Renee replied.

"I thank you for your warning and I will take them seriously Renee. Right now though I think you should get back to work," he told her. She agreed and went back to the bridge leaving Ares alone to think about what she had said.

sssss

Troy and Weaver looked over the scans of the wall that lined the tomb they had found on Kobal. They were trying to find out more information about the evil that had visited Kobal just before they had been forced to leave the planet.

Before the evil had visited the planet had been a beautiful one. Lush forests, clean rivers and an ideal environment to live. The evil had begun polluting the environment to the point where nothing was able to survive. The plants died breaking the food chain and destroying anything they had to eat. Several noticed the danger and had begun to fight the evil.

"Here," Troy said pointing to a place in the texts. Weaver came over quickly to see what Troy had found. They looked at what Troy was reading and together they realized they had a truth. It might also explain their new guest and who he was.

"What did you find," Bri asked as she walked over to look at the text over Troy's shoulder. She brushed her hair behind her ears to keep it out of the way.

"This," Troy said as he went to explain what they had uncovered in the text. "It seems that our guest, Able and the mysterious ships of light and the one called John have visited us before."

"Perhaps you should tell the commander about this," Nall said finally getting into the conversation.

"Good idea," Bri replied. "I'm sure he would like to know what you've found here."

"All right," Troy replied realizing that the commander would want to know.

"I'll go get him," Bri said then walked out the door leaving the others standing there.

"She gets bored easy," Nall said. "I think that's why she picks on me so much."

"Nah, she picks on you 'cause you ask for it," Troy said smiling. "Speaking of which I see that the bruise on your forehead finally disappeared."

"Yep," Nall replied with a smile. "Not that it mattered, I just told them Bri did it."

sssss

Bri made her way to the bridge to get Commander Ares. It was not that she was bored in there it was just that she felt so useless. There were only so many of them that could see the screen so she had chosen to sit down. That and she had been about to fall asleep when Troy had told her what they had found. That had made her happy that they might have something to use against Able.

Turning the corner she ran right into the one person she did not want to see. Able stood there along with four others. Bri did not recognize the others and wondered about what they wanted.

"I would advise against warning the commander about what you've found. What you've found out could get you killed," Able said in a bit of a menacing tone. Able had to give the smaller woman credit he did not feel fear in her mind but instead anger.

"Are you afraid that the truth might get out," Bri said not backing down. Her rational mind said that she should be a bit afraid as she was probably dealing with an alien that was far more powerful than she was. "That's it isn't it you're afraid of the truth."

"Don't be foolish little girl," Able replied. "I can do things far greater than anything your mind can conjure up."

"I have an impressive imagination in case you haven't seen already," Bri said taking a step closer to him. "Now move aside."

"I can't allow you to do this," Able said then paused a second and seemed to take on a distant look. With a scowl he turned leaving Bri alone with the four men who were still looking at the retreating Able.

"I suggest you also move aside otherwise you might be facing a court marshal after all of this," Bri said forcefully. They looked back at her and weighed her words. Everyone knew that the small pilot might look innocent and cute, but cross her and she made your life miserable for a while. Deciding that they could do better things with their time they left her alone and went to catch up with Able.

Bri let a sigh of relief and pondered what that meant. She found herself on the bridge where Colonel Pratt was just informing Commander Ares to come back up to the bridge. He spotted her and made his way on over to see what she needed.

"Is the commander up here," Bri asked him.

"He's on his way, why," Pratt asked her wondering what was going on.

"We think we've found something in the texts that we found on Kobal," Bri said. "And it might have something to do with our guest."

"Really," the commander's voice said from behind them. They turned to see the commander walking towards them. "What have they found out?"

"I'm not real sure just that they wanted to talk to you. They are in Weaver's laboratory," Bri said.

"Okay, I'll be down there in a second, colonel, what's going on out side with the ships of light," Ares asked his second in command.

"They just appeared a few moments ago and buzzed all around the ship. There were no hostile actions taken so I'm not sure what they wanted," Pratt replied.

"How long ago," Bri asked curious about the appearance of the ships.

"Not that long," Pratt replied. "Just a bit before you arrived on the bridge, why?"

"Oh, nothing," Bri said as her mind added that to what she was already pondering.

"Tell the doctor I'll be down in a micron," Ares said watching as Bri walked away. "I've got a feeling that things are about to get ugly around here."

"I'll keep an eye on thing then," Pratt replied watching as Ares walked off the bridge not that far behind Bri. He hoped that things did not get too out of hand. They still were not sure what type of powers this Able had.

sssss

Ares made his way into Weaver's laboratory to see what they had found. He saw Nall, and Troy in the room as well as the doctor and Bri. They were looking at a video of the wall of the tomb. He walked over and looked at the group and waited to see what they had to say.

"Commander, glad you could make it," Weaver said. "We've made some progress here."

"Well let's take a look then," Ares said hoping that this would be the final piece that he needed to kick Able off his ship. Ever since the man had come on board there had been nothing but trouble.

"Right here there is mention that the gods came down and waged war on the planet of Kobal long ago in our past, before our ancestors were able to reach the stars," Weaver said pointing to the text.

"Then it seemed one returned to help the thirteen tribes in their evolution as they reached for the stars. The only problem was the price he demanded was too high for many to pay. He wanted total control over the people. Several rebelled against him and those who were loyal to him. They were crushed and for years he helped them pollute Kobal until it was at the point where in order to survive they had to leave," Troy said pointing it out.

"But it was this saying right here that caused us to think a bit. The words angels and demons. They are not quite spelled right. One is Anjales and the other is Damuin," Weaver said pointing to the texts.

"What does that have to do with our visitor," Ares replied.

"From what I've been able to uncover this is one race with two sides, much like there are thirteen tribes of humanity, they have two," Weaver said.

"I see now," Ares said. He had the missing piece he needed to confront their guest. Ares decided that given the history of their past and everything else then he needed to act quickly before he had a rebellion on his hands.

"You're going to confront him," Troy said not sure that was a good idea. If the legends were right about demons and angels then they controlled great powers.

"Not just yet, I have one more person to see, but I would like you there," Ares said to Troy. "I have something that I need for you to do."

Troy raised his eyebrow and was not sure about this. He would have to wait to see what Ares had planned first. He felt Bri slid up next to him and knew that she would be standing next to him in this battle. He also knew that if Bri was going to be there then Nall would be close behind.

"I'll be right back to pick you back up," Ares said then walked out of the room with a purpose.

sssss

Able could feel that something was going on. The commander was coming this way with a purpose to confront him. He had been preparing for this for a while. It was always like this and it always would be.

The doors opened to the rec room where Able had set himself up as a permanent resident. He was surrounded by people who would willingly follow him even if he ordered their destruction. It was the way of life for his kind. He had not emotion for these people as it was all part of the game. The part coming up was always the most exciting for him.

Able watched as Commander Ares walked into the room followed by the pesky Troy and the small woman who was now shooting daggers at him with her eyes. Ares focused on the commander as he would be the one who he would have to confront the most.

"Able," Ares said as he walked right up to where Able was sitting.

"Have a seat commander and take some time to release the pressure that you're under," Able replied. "I can help you."

"I know what type of help you deliver Able," Ares said to the man. "In fact I doubt that you're even human. I think you're more like the demons in our legends."

"Really now, legends and demons. If that was the case then I would be thousands of yehrens old," Able said.

"For a human yes, but like I said, you're not human are you," Ares said as he walked closer to Able. "In fact I think that you believe you're a god."

"I think you better watch yourself commander," Able growled out in a warning tone to the commander.

"In fact all you are is a more evolved life form. But you don't have what my captain has do you. You don't have the foresight yet," Ares said motioning to Troy. "He has a special ability to foresee future events, do you?"

"I don't have to, I make my own," Able said turning to Troy.

Troy looked right at Able and concentrated. It would definitely drain him but it would be worth it for sure. He put all of his effort into this hoping that Able would be doing what Ares hoped. Then flashes of images came to him. He was not able to understand it but he was sure Able would be as he stopped and stood still for several seconds.

"You," Able said finally recovering with a shake of his head and anger pouring though him. He raised his hand and pointed it right at Troy and was forced to stop for a second as a small blonde stepped in front of him.

"No you," Bri said. "You're a liar to everyone here. You're also scared of the truth. I'm sure everyone here is wondering what the truth is."

Bri began to walk towards Able shrugging off Troy's restraining hand. She had a gut feeling about this ever since her last encounter with Able in the hallway.

"You're bound by rules just as much as everyone else. You're afraid of the beings in the ships of light, why," Bri asked then continued before Able could respond. "It's because you and them are of the same race, bound by the same laws much like we are with the colonies. And one of your rules is you can't interfere with person's own will. So you manipulate others to see you as you want them to, not as the demon you are."

"A demon am I," Able said with a bit of a laugh. "Little girl I could crush you here and now."

"Yes, I suppose you could, but then you'd be in trouble wouldn't you," Bri said with a smile. "The real truth is you don't need that ship to get around. That was just part of the ship of the last crew you seduced and killed."

"In fact the engines on the ship are in perfect working order," Ares said to Able. "I had my engineer look at them and there is nothing wrong with them. It was just an excuse to get on board. And now I want you off my ship."

"But they don't want me to go," Able said sweeping his hands around the room. "They believe in me and trust in me."

"Like the ones on Kobal, before you destroyed the environment and forced us to leave our home planet," Ares said. "How many other worlds have you destroyed?"

"I should just crush you now and get it out of the way," Able said but again was blocked by Bri.

"I agree with the commander, you should leave," she said her green eyes were like steel as she looked at him.

"That's it," Abel said finally losing control and attacked Bri only to find his shot blocked. A new figure had appeared in the room. This one was dressed in white and standing in front of Bri.

"Iblis, you've crossed the line this time," the man said. "Attacking someone who does not willingly follow you."

"Get out of my way, they deserve to die and for me to lead them," Able or Iblis said but looking around he was losing support fast.

"You've broken the rules this time and they want to talk to you now," the man said.

"Very well, but this won't be the last time you see me," Able said vanishing in a bright light.

"Thank you John," Troy said.

"If you really want to thank me then you'll go back and fix what you've started," John said to Troy.

"We can't," John replied. "If we're to survive then we need to find Earth."

"The universe has a way of working things out. A little bit of time now would not hurt," John said.

"As you said, things have a way of working themselves out," Ares repeated having listened to the conversation.

John merely nodded his head in Ares' direction then vanished as well. The group was left wondering what was going to happen. Those in the room that had been following Able got up and left the room. Ares could only wonder if he had heard the last of Able. He hoped so.

Continued in Down Time


	11. Chapter 11: Down Time

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Down Time**

Ares looked around the bridge for about the millionth time since he had come up there a short while ago. In the last half yehren there had been nothing for anyone to do. They had no encounters or anything else to keep the crew occupied besides their jobs and the reports from home.

"Commander, we're within range of the next solar system," Pratt said from where he was sitting as well.

"Have Captain Gunther and his wingman report for the patrol," Ares said as Pratt got up and walked out to carry out his orders. This would be the first system they had encountered since their encounter with the advanced race that John and Able were a part of.

Ares was not sure if he wanted something to happen this time or not. Sure if something happened it would make for an exciting time but so far every time they had encountered a planet there had been something going on. A boring patrol would also be welcome. But that would mean that there was little for the crew to do and he did not want to conduct drills yet the longer the boredom set in the harder it would be to maintain discipline.

"I hope they find something, peaceful yet something," Ares said almost knowing that such a thing was almost not possible.

He heard Renee a few moments later tell the patrol group that they were cleared for launch. He glanced at the scanners to see the familiar sight of the two vipers launching from the Argo. The two viper quickly and efficiently formed up and headed away from the battlestar and towards the system.

That was something else that he knew he could have to begin looking for, fuel. If they ran out it would mean disaster for everyone. He was not concerned with it now but he came across nothing during his travel then it would be a disaster for him and his crew. Taking a look at the supply chart they had enough for current consumption to last for another yehren or so depending if the rate increased or decreased and nothing else was found. They would run out of food first though. That was something that he would have his pilots keep and eye out for, or the next time they ran into an intelligent race.

Pratt walked back onto the bridge and returned to his position. He was looking much like the rest of the crew was. Ares knew that he had a place to retreat to but most of the crew only had their quarters which were shared by others. This would make private time very short and private space a bit rare. He would have to bring that up at the next meeting.

After Able had left he had decided to hold meeting with the heads of each department to find out what was going on and how morale was. So far things were not bad but there was a bit of an undercurrent there. Ares decided that it was probably the group that had been loyal to Able and was keeping an eye on them.

sssss

Troy walked in to the rec room to see Bri and Nall already in there. Troy would have been there a bit quicker but there had been a briefing for red squadron. They had approached another system that they had to check out. The next system would be green squad's to explore.

"Hey," Bri said turning to Troy as he sat down next to them. Troy noticed that Nall had a grin on his face and Bri had an annoyed look on hers.

"What did you do now," Troy asked Nall knowing that it had to be something that he said.

"Nothing," he replied along with a look that said 'who me?'.

Bri snorted and Troy thought he heard a 'yeah right' reply back at him. It really was one of the strangest friendships he was ever a part of that was for sure. Sometimes he had to wonder what kept their friendship together but then he already knew that. For all the teasing and fighting they did they would die for each other if needed. In this profession that was what was required for each other.

"I can tell by the looks on your faces that something happened," Troy said looking back and forth between the two of them.

"Now he's trying to get me in a threesome," Bri said scowling at Nall. "As if I won't do a twosome that a threesome would be better."

"You don't know unless you try it," Nall said waggling his eyebrows as Troy groaned and placed his head on the table. He should have known it would have had to do with sex. An idea suddenly came to him though and his head popped back up.

"With who," Troy asked looking at Nall. He had timed his question perfectly as Bri had just taken a drink and managed to spew it over the table in shock.

"I was thinking of Jax, or maybe Renee from the bridge," Nall replied warming up. "They are both great in bed."

"Not bad," Troy said finally looking at Bri who was looking at him with slitted eyes that could kill a daggit across the galaxy. He finally started to laugh which earned him a raised eyebrow as Nall also joined in.

"Just great," Bri said not taking her eyes off Troy. She had expected comments to come from Nall, but not from Troy.

"I'm sorry Bri, but I just couldn't resist," he said as he managed to restrain his laughter for a few seconds. "But the look on your face was priceless."

"Ha-ha," Bri said. "Just wait, I'll get even," she said in a calm even voice.

"Oh boy, now you've done it," Nall said knowing what her mind was able to come up with. "Just don't let her wash your socks," he told Troy the pointed down to his socks that he had on.

Troy looked down and noticed that Nall's normally black socks were pink today. He then looked back up to Nall.

"And don't ask about my underwear," he said shaking his head. Bri meanwhile had gone from scowling to a rather pleased look on her face.

"I can do yours if you'd like," she said sweetly to the point where he almost would have agreed if Nall had not just show him his socks.

"No thanks, I'll keep my guard up," Troy replied.

"So what's up," Nall said moving the conversation forward.

"Red squad just went on patrol to another system. So we're kind of on a yellow alert until they return," Troy replied. It was becoming an unwritten rule that the ship would be in a combat situation until the patrol returned with word of what was in the system.

sssss

Gunther and his wing mate, Iolase, headed towards a system that had about seven planets. Several were gas giants but there were a few that were more of the size of the colonies. It was one of these that they were more concerned with as the others seemed just a bit too far away for human life.

Gunther and Iolase stayed together just in case there was any trouble. So far there had been nothing that they could see that might cause any trouble. Heading to the planets that might be able to support life they passed the first planet and it was bare. It was the second planet they passed that they noticed something right away.

"Captain, does that planet look green to you," Iolase asked as they approached the planet.

"Yeah," Gunther replied. "We'll take a closer look. It could be minerals giving that appearance."

They flew closer and the scanners confirmed what they thought they were seeing, life was on the planet.

"Let's go down for a closer look," Gunther said as they steered their vipers down into the planet's atmosphere.

sssss

"Commander, I'm getting a transmission from the patrol," Renee said from where she was sitting.

"Put it though," Ares replied as he listened to what Captain Gunther was saying. He appeared to have found a planet that supports life. There was no sign of intelligent life on the planet but the atmosphere was compatible with their own.

Ares decided that if everything went right that now would be the time for relaxation. He told the patrol to continue then return to the Argo then got in contact with Doctor Weaver.

"Commander, what can I do for you," Weaver asked over the intercom.

"I need you to assemble a team and head to the planet that the patrol just discovered. I want to make sure that the atmosphere is breathable to us without any dangers," Ares said.

"I'm on it commander," Weaver said signing off.

"Colonel, have another team assembled to go with the doctor to perform scan for any hostile danger that might be on the planet," Ares ordered.

Pratt replied that he understood and left in search of the team that would head to the planet. He was not quite sure what the commander was thinking but did not question it for now. The commander always told him what was going to happen.

Ares really was not expecting to have something come up so soon for a relaxation time but he would take it now. He was not sure when the next opportunity would come along again. Ares also hoped that they might be able to replenish their supply of water at this planet.

sssss

Colonel Pratt found who he was looking for in the rec room of the battlestar. He wondered how they would react to this mission. It was different from any of the other missions that they had been sent on so far. They were to provide security for Doctor Weaver and his team.

"Captain," Pratt said as he approached the table where they were sitting at.

"Colonel, did something happen," Troy asked suddenly worried that the patrol did not go as planned.

"Nothing like you're thinking captain," Pratt replied knowing that his appearance could mean a lot of different things. "The patrol encountered a planet that supports life. The commander asked for the doctor to go and check it out to see if there was anything dangerous to us on the planet. He wants a security team to go with him as well."

"To make sure that there is nothing there that harms the science team," Troy replied knowing what type of mission they were store for now. "Why is the commander so interested in this planet?"

"I think that he's thinking of using it as a place to rest for a while before we move on," Pratt replied.

"Ohh, that would be nice," Bri said from where she was sitting having heard the conversation. "The rec room is nice but some space would be great."

"I think you just want that so you'll have more ways to get back at us," Nall said looking at Bri who had her 'who me' look on.

"I don't know what you're talking about, pinkie," Bri replied sweetly.

"Ha-ha," Nall replied then turned to the colonel. "You can count me in."

"Actually its up to Captain Troy, he's responsible for the team," Pratt said looking at Troy.

"And I'll accept," Troy said looking at Nall then at Bri. "What about you?"

"Gee, a chance to get off the ship, onto a planet and with my favorite friends or stay here by my self on this steel battlestar, let me think," Bri said rolling her eyes while she talked.

"Well if you don't want to go you don't have to," Nall said which earned him a slap to his shoulder.

"Smart daggit," Bri said. "Of course I'll go."

"Good, I'll expect you and your team to report to the briefing room as soon as possible," Pratt said then turned and left the room.

sssss

"Hello doctor," Troy said as he approached the shuttle. He was going to be the pilot along with Bri and Nall and Jax were going to provide escort to the planet, not that they expected anything to happen on the way but it was better to be safe then sorry everyone agreed.

"Captain, how are you doing," Weaver said as he approached the man. Weaver had been in his laboratory since the encounter with Able. It made Troy wonder if the man ever got out much when he was at the colonies. He was a dedicated man that was for sure.

"Just fine doctor," Troy replied as he then looked to Weaver's assistant and someone who was from the medical staff.

"Well then shall we go, I myself am looking forward to see this planet," Weaver said. This was part of the reason he was brought along.

"Let's go," he said ushering everyone inside. He sat down next to Bri who was already beginning the warm up procedures. "A little anxious are we?"

"I can't help it, I guess I just want to feel the wind in my hair," Bri replied.

"You mean standing in front of the air-conditioning doesn't do it for you," Troy replied with a smile.

"No," Bri replied giving Troy a look that said quite a bit making him laugh. "Just wait, sure you don't need your clothes washed?"

"Ah, no thanks," Troy replied as the clearance came over the communicator for their launch. He pushed the launch button and they quickly launched out of the shuttle bay of the Argo with two vipers quickly following.

sssss

The shuttle landed on the surface of the planet in a large meadow with a lake nearby that was fed from what they could see in the air by a stream coming from the distant mountains. The doors opened and Weaver and his crew walked out and quickly went to work setting up their equipment and beginning their experiments to check out the planet's atmosphere and water.

"Let's go take a look at the lake that we saw," Troy said as Nall agreed. He decided that Bri and Jax would stay behind to keep an eye on Weaver and look around the meadow.

The two of them walked down the slight slope that led to the lake. He could head the lake already as the sound of water splashing against the shore carried over to where he was walking.

"You know that Bri likes you right," Nall suddenly said as the lake came into view.

"I had a feeling, of course I like her as well," Troy replied.

"I know, I can see it every time I see the two of you," Nall said and Troy thought he heard something in Nall's voice.

"You love her as well don't you," Troy said suddenly wishing he had not said that. "Sorry Nall, that's probably none of my business."

"No, it's all right," Nall replied. "I think that I've been in love with her for a long time now. I think I always knew that she'd find someone that she would love as well. I just hoped that perhaps I had a chance."

"Bri would never do anything to hurt you," Troy said as Nall turned and looked at him. "I meant emotionally."

"True," Nall said smiling as he picked up a rock and tossed it into the lake. "This conversation didn't go like I had planned."

Troy stood there not sure what to say about his as he watched Nall skip another rock across the water's surface.

"What I wanted to say was Bri loves you, don't do anything to hurt her or you'll have me to deal with," Nall said acting very much like a father and brother rolled into one person.

"I think if I did, you would not have much to do after Bri finished with me," Troy said as the two of them laughed about it as he tossed a rock himself. "So does Bri know you're talking about her like this?"

"By Kobal no, if she found out I shudder to think what she would do," he replied with a smile. "I think I will anyways."

Troy just shook his head. "You two have a strange relationship, just strange. And I think it won't matter who else she loves you're relationship won't change."

sssss

Ares stood on the bridge waiting to see what type of results would come back. Pratt was now on his down time and had gone back to his quarters for some rest. Ares was sure that if he did not tell Pratt to leave the bridge that the man would always be here. If the planet came though clean the colonel was going to be one of the first ones down.

sssss

Weaver pronounced the planet to be clean enough for the crew to be on the planet's surface. He still recommended that they go though detox when they came back but Ares did not have a problem with that.

The Battlestar Argo was now orbiting the planet as shuttles went down to the planet's surface. Ares wanted everyone to have a chance to head to the planet's surface for some time to relax. This seemed to be a good time as there was nothing on the scanners and the patrols had not found anything that might endanger the ship.

Pratt had been one of the first down on the planet's surface. That was only because Ares had almost forced him to go first by promising that when he got back Ares would go down next. Pratt looked across the bridge that was now operating on a skeleton crew but he was not worried. The pilots had taken their vipers down to the surface just in case.

Ares had given permission for the ship to remain at this planet for a couple of rotations of the planet around its axis. He wanted to make sure that everyone had enough time to relax. He also had them on the look out for anything that might be able to be used as food or anything like that.

The crew was already replacing their water supply with fresh water. He could always tell the difference between fresh water and the recycled water. Even though he was now used to the taste of the recycled water he preferred fresh water.

There was still a lot of things to do but even he could feel some excitement that they would be having some time off. He hoped that they might be able to do this a few more times during their voyage but he had decided to stop now in case the next possible stop was some time from now. For now they would enjoy this stop.

sssss

Bri watched as Troy and Nall were participating in a game that several of the other crew had started up. Even though she was not any good at playing sports she just did not like playing them. They had a ball that they were kicking around. It was an ancient game that was present on all twelve worlds and did no require much equipment to set up and play.

Troy came over to where she was sitting having had enough of playing the game. Nall was still engaged in the game that looked like there was no stopping it. Sitting down next to her he waited a second while taking a drink of water. The game had been quite stimulating and was not something that they could do aboard the Argo.

"Have fun," Bri asked as she glanced over at him.

"Yeah, did you have fun watching," Troy asked her.

"Yeah, I did," Bri said with a smile not saying who she was watching the most.

"I'm sure you did," Troy replied right back.

"Do you think that Doctor Weaver has found anything on the planet," Bri asked changing the topic.

"Last I saw he was down at the lake fishing to see what type of fish lived in there," Troy said.

"Fishing, yuck," Bri replied. That was something she did not like at all.

"There's nothing wrong with fishing," Troy replied.

"Yuck," Bri said making a face anyways. Just the thought of something so slimy and scaly in her hands made her shiver. "Eating fish is fine, catching them is gross."

"Well I guess its your loss," Troy said as he stretched out beside her. "Its nice here. One could almost forget that the Cylons are out there."

"Yeah," Bri said as she looked up at the sky that had clouds indicating that the water on this planet had a cycle as well. "I can't remember the last time I just look up at the sky."

Troy caught the wistful note of her voice and was not sure what to say to that. There were many things that they had not had growing up with the war against the Cylons. Families were torn apart as members were killed. He could understand the growing sentiment for peace among the people.

"Perhaps one day we'll have peace and be able to tell our children about the war," Troy said not really thinking about what he had just said.

Bri rolled her head to look at Troy for a second. "Our children," she said meeting his gaze for a few seconds before he realized what he had just said.

"Ah, well, I mean, I just assumed that we would get married, ah I mean, frack, this isn't coming out right," Troy said. He could not believe he was having so much trouble. "You know what I mean."

"No I don't, explain it too me," she said rolling onto her side to watch Troy.

Troy saw the look in her eyes and he wondered at how she could put on such an innocent face at a time like this. He knew that she knew what he was trying to say but as Nall had told him she always got you back.

"This is payback isn't it," Troy said as he turned to look at the sky again.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Bri replied in an innocent voice. Then she quickly leaned over and gave him a kiss on the cheek and then looked back up at the sky missing the look that Troy gave her.

sssss

"Aww, isn't that sweet," Jax said from where she was standing next to Nall.

"What," Nall said turning to look at Jax then turned to see what she was looking at.

He saw Bri and Troy both lying in the grass of looking up at the sky. Even from here he could see the quick exchange of glances that they gave each other when they thought the other was not looking. He wondered if they really knew what was going on between them. He had given Troy what he thought was enough information to make a move even though it did break his heart a the thought.

"Hey, you all right," Jax said nudging Nall with her elbow.

"Yeah, fine," he said in time to see Bri give Troy a quick kiss. He knew that he would never stand a chance now. Taking a deep breath he turned his attention back to the game that was going on. "Come on, let's go get the ball and score."

"Now you're talking," Jax said knowing that Nall saw what had just happened. She mentally kicked herself for saying anything, but also knew that Nall would have to move on sooner or later anyways. He moved from girl to girl, which many did not mind, and seemed to care for them all. She wondered who would take Nall's heart and mend it.

sssss

Ares climbed off the shuttle after being on the planet's surface. The couple of days at the planet had been good for everyone. The spirits seemed to have risen quite a bit. He could feel himslef rejuvenated as well. He was ready to go for another couple of sectons before the next break.

"Report colonel," Ares said as he approached Pratt. The colonel looked to be refreshed as well and Ares knew that he had done the right thing in ordering him to rest for a bit.

"The last of the crew is going though detox right now. The water supply has been replenished and filtered for consumption. We also found some fruits on the trees that seemed to be quite good that we added to our food supplies," Pratt told him. He knew that the addition of some new food would help spice up the meals.

"Did everyone take some time off," Ares asked making sure that everyone got some time to have fun.

"Yes commander, even the workaholics," Pratt said with a smile.

"Good," Ares said. "I can feel the difference in the crew."

Pratt was quiet for a few microns before replying. He could also feel it. There was a relaxed feeling in the air. The quarters did not seem so closed in anymore to him. This small vacation was the right thing to do.

"Where to next commander," Pratt finally said.

"What next on the list," Ares said as they walked over to the long range scanners.

"This system right here," Pratt said.

"All right, helm plot a course and engage at light speed," Ares said to the crew. There were other adventures waiting for them out there.

Continued in Messages


	12. Chapter 12: Messages

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Messages**

Ares looked out from his spot on the bridge at everyone doing their jobs. They had been in space now for well over a yehren and there was still no sign of Earth. There were some who wondered how far away the planet was or if the thirteenth tribe even made it to the planet.

Ares was beginning to have doubts that Earth even existed at all. He knew that some others also had questions about it as well. Some others like Troy seemed to have no doubts about the existence of the planet Earth at all. It was something that Ares had a feeling was stirring just under the surface with the crew.

Pratt had encountered a few of the crew whispering among themselves about the sanity of the commander of the ship and of the mission. Several thought that perhaps it was time to return back to the colonies. They had now be gone over a yehren and it had been a long time since the last encounter with any other human race.

Some thought that they had missed the planet and that it was time to turn back to find them. Ares was not sure about what to do anymore. The crew seemed to be torn but he had a gut feeling that they should stay on their present course. His gut feeling had rarely been wrong so he was not used to not trusting it.

"Hello commander," Pratt said as he walked onto the bridge to begin his shift.

"Colonel, how are you doing," Ares said looking over to where Pratt was coming up to where he was.

"Well, things seem to be quiet on the rumor front today. I think the resent arrival of the colony news helped for now," Pratt said having read the latest news on the war against the Cylons. Some of the stories held a note of something that Pratt felt was strange. There was something going on in the background that he could not figure out.

"I know what you mean," Ares said. "I was reading over the latest military communiqués that came in. There are a few skirmishes but nothing major lately."

"You don't think the Cylons are going to try that sneak attack again," Pratt asked. The last time the Cylons had tried such an attack they had foiled part of the plan.

"I don't know, but I do know that we are too far away to do anything about it," Ares told him.

Pratt realized that Ares was saying the truth. They were too far away to help out at the moment. A thought went through Pratt's mind. What if the fleet was destroyed along with the colonies while they were out here? Then what would they do?

"What would happen if the fleet was destroyed," Pratt asked as he thought about that.

"I once asked that same question to Commander Backus, and his reply was if any ship remained of the fleet then the commander would probably take as many ships as he could and head away from the colonies," Ares said as he recalled what Troy had said about that. That was something he was not going to mention at the moment. Troy had seen the destruction of the fleet and once battlestar surviving. If that was the truth then Earth needed to be ready.

"Then Earth will need to be ready to defend itself," Pratt said.

"Well, that is our mission," Ares said. "The largest problem was at this distance from the colonies there is little we can do to provide support for the colonies. The most we can do is gather up a fleet to send to help."

"Kind of like a remote shipyard," Pratt said.

"Something like that," Ares said even though he had never thought about it like that.

"And I wonder if they will ever remember the other tribes," Pratt said more to himself than anyone else.

"I think that will be our first challenge," Ares said having spent quite a bit of time thinking about such things. "We'll worry about that when the time arrives I guess."

* * *

Weaver was excited. He had worked on this now for almost half a yehren and his work was now paying off. His assistant had been sent to fetch the commander as the doctor knew that he would want to know about this.

Weaver had just finished setting up the program when his assistant stepped back into the room along with Commander Ares. The commander stopped just inside the room at what he saw.

"What," Ares said as he looked at the sight before him. Standing right in front of him was two doctors. Each was standing there looking right at him with their arms crossed. "Doctor Weaver," Ares said looking back and forth between the two men standing there.

Ares glanced over at the assistant who did not seem to be bothered by what he saw at all. Ares was sure that they had not been experimenting with clones so he had to wonder what was going on here.

"This does seem to be a bit different, or I've finally cracked," Ares finally said.

"Oh, don't worry commander," one of the doctors said allowing the other to finish the thought. "You have not gone mad."

"That's comforting, I guess," Ares said still not sure what he was seeing or how he was seeing it.

"You remember that strange device we picked up on one of the first missions," one of the doctors asked Ares.

"Yeah," Ares said remembering the strange rectangular device that Bri had picked up on their first mission. It has some sort of holographic technology in it. Then it hit him. "One of you is a hologram."

"Correct," the other Weaver said.

"Now can you guess which on is which without touching us," the first Weaver said to Ares.

Ares looked at first one then the other trying to gain something that would help him in this task. He walked towards both of them and took a close look at the each of them and noticed nothing that could give away the fact that one was not real. He finally was forced to admit that he did not know which was which.

"I am," Weaver said as he pushed a button and one disappeared. "It's a remarkable technology," he said picking up the rectangular piece in question.

"You mean you were able to duplicate it," Ares asked in a bit of disbelief.

"Yes, the technology itself it quite simple but learning how to create one takes a bit more experience," Weaver replied. "I took me almost a yehren to figure out all the pieces, but once I did it's amazing."

"I see, I can also see the practical implications that it can be put to," Ares said, thinking that if he had such a technology against the Cylons it would be an advantage for the colonies. Then another thought came to him. "Can we use this to create an even bigger hologram?"

"How big," Weaver said wondering how big the commander was thinking.

"The size of a battlestar," Ares asked.

"I don't know. The power required goes up with the size of the hologram but it should be possible," Weaver said as he thought about it. In theory there was no limit to the size of the hologram but the limiting factor was power.

"Do you have any idea how much power such a hologram would require," Ares asked wondering if a battlestar would have the power requirements for such a task.

"I'm not sure, I'll work on it and let you know," Weaver said.

"Good, I look forward to the report doctor, and good work," Ares said with a smile.

"Thanks commander," Weaver replied.

* * *

Nall walked down the hallway towards where he knew his friends would be. He had already met with Jax and Renee so far today. The latest news was not that good. People were getting bored and antsy about the long confined voyage in space. Not that he could blame them but the group making the most noise was the group that had been loyal to Able when the stranger had been aboard the ship.

Nall had heard bits and pieces of conversations that had him worried about the mission. Even if they turned around it would take them half a yehren to return back to the colonies at full speed.

Nall walked into the room quickly scanning it for his friends. He found them sitting by the bar having a drink. Taking a moment to look at them he noticed that Bri and Troy were close to each other. Over the past yehren they had become even closer than he thought they would. Every time he saw them together he wondered when they would finally join together. He had the feeling that if they were back at the colonies they would have joined some time ago. Now he had one other agenda as well.

Walking up to Troy he sat down next to him then looked at the two of them. When he really knew that their relationship was becoming a bit more serious he had begun to withdraw not wanting to ruin it for Bri. He was glad when Troy and Bri had both told him not to stop his relationship with Bri. Troy was comfortable with Nall and knew that the two of them shared a special friendship. That and it diverted attention away from Troy when he did something wrong.

"I see I caught you two here," Nall said as he ordered some ambrosia. He had just gotten off duty so he had time.

"Yeah, we were just keeping an eye on Jax over there," Bri said to him.

"What's going on," Nall asked wondering what Jax had gotten herself involved with now.

"Take a look at who she's talking with lately," Troy replied.

Nall took a casual glance around finding Jax then who she was spending time with at the moment. Nall recognized the man as one from the engine room. He also was one of the ones who was trying to gain support for heading back to the colonies.

"Do you think there could be trouble," Nall asked.

"I don't know," Troy said. "Ever since our encounter with Able the visions have been rare."

"Why haven't you said anything before," Bri said as she looked at Troy. She was a bit worried that something might be wrong and he had ignored it.

"It could mean several things Bri," Troy said. "One is this is just a dry spell, another is I never see anything that directly effects myself or there is nothing out there to see lately."

"Or something could be wrong," Bri said a bit worried.

"But I have had a few visions, but they were minor," Troy said to Bri.

"Well I'm not worried," Nall said. "You'll get it back. Its kinda like sex," Nall said with a grin. "You go though dry spell occasionally then it picks up again."

"Only you would compare sex with visions," Bri said.

"Hey, if you have a vision with me and a drop dead gorgeous woman let me know," Nall said to Troy watching as Bri let her head fall to the bar top in disbelief.

"You are a pervert," Bri mumbled from her position.

"I think he was just doing that to get a rise out of you sweetheart," Troy said rubbing her back.

"Did it work," Nall said in his most sexy voice.

"Why did I get stuck with a perverted friend," Bri said glancing up towards the ceiling.

"Because I'm so lovable," Nall replied wiggling his eyebrows at Bri as Troy started to laugh.

Troy found that the banter between Bri and Nall was quite funny and realized that Martin probably did as well. They had talked about the man quite often and wondered what he was doing now. The one thing that Troy was sure of was he was to meet the woman he loved out there. It was strange to think about that at times. He also had a vision of another warrior who would be helped by Martin's crashed ship to get back home.

Troy suddenly saw another place and another time. His visions were not gone as he realized he was having another one. He saw Nall standing on the surface of a planet along with a few others. The planet seemed to have an advanced race on it. Someone came running up to Nall and handed him a message. Troy could see from the message that it was important.

Troy watched in amazement as Nall turned to a woman and kissed her then picked up a child and kissed the child as well. He then turned and walked away quickly with the messenger. Then the vision was over and Troy glanced at Nall strangely.

"You all right there Troy," Nall asked wondered why Troy was looking at him like he was.

"Oh, nothing much," Troy said turning to Bri with a smile on his face.

"Where did you go there," Bri asked.

"Later," Troy whispered in her ear.

"I'll hold you to that then," Bri replied.

"Come on, let's get out of here," Nall said draining the rest of his drink then got up.

The three of them walked out of the room.

* * *

Jax was sure that the engineer was pretty full of himself. She had some fun with him but now it was getting boring. She looked around and noticed that Bri, Troy and Nall were walking out of the room. She wondered if Nall would be interested in a night of fun. Her current flame was not that good. That and he was constantly starting to get on her nerves about his abilities and ideas.

Now he was droning on about what he would do if he was in command of the Argo. Jax realized while he was speaking that he really thought he was a better commander than Ares was.

"We should turn around now. We could help with the war effort more than being out here," the man said.

"You would go against orders then," Jax asked looking right at the man.

"If I had to, yes," the man replied without missing a beat. "Sometimes the greatest leaders do what they are told not to do."

"And sometimes it get us all killed," Jax replied. It was becoming obvious to her that the man did not have a clue what it took to command.

"Well at least I know what the crew wants," the man said again.

"Really, then what do the pilots say," Jax asked.

"The pilots," he asked confused. "They are part of the crew who want to head back home."

"Uh, no, I haven't heard of one pilot expressing wishes to head home, or are the pilots not part of the crew," Jax asked her eyes narrowing as she waited for his answer.

"Who cares about pilots, we're the ones who make the ship run," the man said pointing to himself with his thumb.

Jax got up then poured her drink on the man. "Us pilots are the ones who will keep your happy ass safe when the Argo comes under attack," Jax said then turned and walked out of the room before she really did something she would later regret. Now she needed to find Nall.

The man was a bit surprised at what his current girl had done but shrugged it off. "Lover's quarrel," he told the others then used a towel and wiped himself off.

* * *

Nall was a bit surprised when Jax came into the room that they were in and headed straight for him. They had an on again off again relationship, and right now it was off, or that's what he had thought.

"Hey handsome," Jax said as she slid into the seat next to Nall.

"Hello gorgeous," Nall said knowing what this was going too led to. He was not one to turn away a free gift that was for sure.

"I need to talk to you for a moment," Jax said as she quickly glanced around for anyone that she thought might be part of the group.

"All right," Nall replied wondering what Jax wanted. She had glanced around looking for others that he was a bit concerned.

"There's a growing movement in the crew," she said quietly so that only Nall could hear her. Nall remained quiet waiting to see what else Jax would tell him. "They want to turn around and go home."

Nall thought about that for a second. True he would not mind going home right now either but it would take some time for that to happen. There were a lot of other things to consider as well that he was sure the crew did not know.

"I think that they might try to overthrow the commander," Jax said knowing that it was something that might happen unless something happened soon.

"Interesting," Troy said. "Most everyone signed on for this mission with the knowledge that they might never make it back to the colonies."

"I know and you know that but they seemed to have forgotten that," Jax said quickly. She was not sure she wanted to get involved in whatever was going to happen.

"Who is saying this," Troy asked wanting the information for when he talked with the commander.

"Engineer Rickter," Jax said.

"Wasn't he one of the ones who supported Able," Nall asked remembering the man standing with Able.

"Yes he was," Jax replied as that was where they had first met.

"Then it seems that Able gave us more trouble then we first had thought," Troy said thinking about everything for a few moments. He wondered if Able was back on board the ship or not. Troy really hoped that the man had not made it back on board the ship. They were still investigating the ship that he had brought on board.

"Perhaps it is time we went and told the commander then," Bri said speaking up for the first time.

"I think so Bri," Troy said then turned to Jax. "I would like it if you came with us," he told her.

"I would rather stay away from the fall out of this. I have friends on both sides," Jax said. She was not sure she wanted to endanger her friendships just yet. That and there might be more information to come later one if they did not think she was giving it away.

"I understand," Troy said. "What about you Nall?"

"I'm with you," Nall replied without any hesitation. He would stand by Bri and Troy for sure regardless what anyone else said about him.

"Let's go then," Troy said. The three of them got up and walked out of the room leaving Jax alone in the room. She just hoped that she had done the right thing in telling Nall.

* * *

Ares reviewed the latest report that came in from the colonies. It had just arrived so he could look over the military attachments that might go along with it. There was nothing much that could be considered important. It was filled with the normal information and supply logs that usually came with the fleet information. There had been no major battles for a while and a few skirmishes that were reported.

Glancing at the memo he noticed that the Pegasus was undergoing a refit to upgrade her weapon systems and that the Atlantia and Pacificia were scheduled next. The Galactica was scheduled for last of the refits he noticed. He wondered how Commander Adama felt about that. Ares often wondered that if Adama and Cain could be mixed together they would get the best commander ever. Footsteps on the bridge alerted him to fact that he had visitors on the bridge.

Ares was not surprised to see the trio of Troy, Nall and Bri coming towards him. The three were close friends who looked out for each other. The look on Troy's face told Ares that he had something serious to tell him. Ares wondered what type of vision he had seen this time.

"Commander, can we talk to you in private," Troy said when he reached Ares.

"Sure, Renee, you have the bridge until either Colonel Pratt or I come back," Ares said to the woman who nodded her head and went up to his position. Ares led the trio off the bridge and towards his office to talk. "All right what's up," Ares said once they were inside his office.

"There might be a problem commander," Troy said. "It seems that there is a growing part of the crew that wishes to head back home."

"Do you think they will try a mutiny," Ares asked not sure if he should prepare himself for such a thing or not. He had heard some rumblings about dissatisfaction among the crew but nothing lately.

"Well it seems that the group was also the ones who were with Able when he was on board," Troy said. "I haven't had anything that suggests a rebellion on board but I do see us on a planet, or should I say Nall is on a planet."

"Me," Nall said with a bit of shock then recovered. "Was I with a beautiful woman," he said wiggling his eyebrows. A smile had graced his face but was quickly replaced when Bri slapped him behind the head. "Ouch," Nall said with a bit of a pout. Bri had not hit him that hard but he was going to try and milk it.

"Don't try that one with me, I am the master of the pout," Bri said then gave Nall one of her own.

Ares just sat back in his chair watching as only this trio could do something like this. He let them continue to talk among themselves while he thought about what he needed to do to curb any pending uprisings on the Argo.

"Perhaps I should tell the crew the truth," Ares said out loud. That caught the trio's attention as they turned to him. Troy already knew what Ares was saying but he was not sure the others did.

"What truth," Bri said wondering if they had been lied to about their mission.

"The reason why we are on this mission," Ares said watching as two faces went blank. "The real reason is several commanders of the fleet believe that unless something drastic can be done we will lose the war."

"Lose the war," Bri said not sure she heard correctly.

"Yes, the council keeps refusing to build new battlestars to replenish the fleet loses. Last I heard they finally commissioned the dockyards to begin designs for a new battlestar, but the rumor is they will only authorize one to be built," Ares said recalling everything that he could from the reports.

"Perhaps we should then," Troy said knowing that it might help but it could also backfire on them. It might demoralize the crew to hear such a thing.

"I'll think about it," Ares said.

* * *

Renee sat in the command chair of the Argo. It was something she had done more often as Pratt and Ares trained her for command of the battlestar as well. It was as if they knew something that she did not. She was not sure she liked that idea and hoped that nothing was wrong with either of them.

Her thoughts about the health or any other reasons for their training of her were cut off by the screen in front of her. It was showing that it was picking up some strange signals. Curiosity got the best of her and she fiddled with the controls to see if she could make out the signal and where it was coming from.

"That is really strange," Renee thought to herself as she continued to try and improve the signal. "Iolous, do you read a mysterious signal coming on?"

"Ah, yeah I do," Iolous replied as he too looked at his screen. "Running systems check," he said flipping the switches to see if anything was wrong with the scanners.

Iolous had just reported back that everything checked out when her screen came to life with an image she had never seen before. The image was a bit fuzzy but it showed a strange craft that appeared to be closing in on the surface of a planet.

There was an audio click then the words 'the eagle has landed' came over the speaker. Renee decided that it was time to get the commander.

"Commander to the bridge," Renee replied.

* * *

Ares heard Renee's message and quickly got up and ran to the bridge wondering what was going on. The trio was right behind him all the way to the bridge. He got up there in time to see an image on the screen just before it faded to static.

"What was that," Ares asked.

"That's what I called you up here for. We intercepted a message on a Gamma frequency and that image was part of it," Renee said pushing some buttons to bring up the recorded image they had intercepted.

The video was played back for everyone on the bridge. Finally Ares looked back at everyone hoping that someone would know what it was.

"That seemed to be like something I've seen from the old space faring days when we were just reaching out to space again," Nall said. "And at that time we used gamma frequencies."

"Where did it come from," Ares asked.

"Calculating now," Renee replied and a few moments later she had the answer. "On this path," she said outlining the direction on the map.

"This could be from Earth," Ares said. "Set our course to match where the signal came from. I think once this gets out it will quell the talk for a while."

"I hope your right commander," Troy said but had the feeling that it would.

* * *

The battlestar changed course and continued on its voyage. The video spread though the ship as the crew was able to view it and an excitement grew though the ship. The rumor was that the video came from Earth. The debate was now how far away the planet was and would they be reaching it soon.

Talk among the crew about heading back to the colonies abated for now. Their mission might actually have an ending. It would be a great feat for them indeed if they could find Earth. Many of the more religious ones were saying that it was by the act of God that they had found the message when they did. Many could not dispute that fact but did not contradict them.

Deep within the memory of the computers on board the Argo something stirred once the video had been received. Its time was coming soon and it would be ready.

Continued in Arrival


	13. Chapter 13: Arrival

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Arrival**

The battlestar Argo had gone by several star systems without finding the planet Earth. None even had the remains of a civilization on them. Now they were arriving near another system. Each time they came closer to a new system the signals they were receiving grew stronger. The latest craze on board the Argo was a betting game on what they would find at each system.

On the bridge of the battlestar Ares and his crew waited as the latest patrol was about to be launched to the next system. This one had been a while to get to from the last one. This system seemed to be a bit more remotely isolated then the other systems they had encountered.

In the back of Ares's mind the though was what if they find Earth. What would he do then? He would need some sort of plan once they finally found the planet. He had been thinking about that ever since they had left the colonies. The one thing that came to his mind was he would wait and see what type of technology they had and that would make his decision.

"Core control transferring launch control to green patrol, launch when ready," Ares heard Renee's voice say to the patrol. Bri and Troy were once again taking the patrol.

Part of him wondered if they would find something. He actually hoped that they did find something. The food that was being grown on the battlestar was all right but he was ready for something else. They were rationing their supplies now. At the last system they had found a supply of fuel stocked up on but no food.

Ares watched as the two vipers sped out of the launch tubes and headed towards the system. He wished the two pilots good luck and went into his waiting game until he heard something from the patrol. He wished them luck in their patrol then went back to waiting for their report.

* * *

"Well," Jax said as she stepped up next to Nall who was looking out of the hanger bay into space.

"Well what," Nall replied not having heard her come up beside him.

"Did you put in your thought as to what they will find," Jax replied pointing to the large board where there were several things that the patrol could encounter.

"Oh, that," Nall replied as he saw the board. "Yeah, I put my normal," he told her.

"That they will find Earth," Jax replied. It was what he always put for a patrol. She did not blame him for doing that. She figured that sooner or later they would find Earth and his guess would be right.

"Yep, I was thinking of changing it this time," Nall replied.

"To what," Jax asked.

"To the planet full of beautiful women," Nall answered..

"Not the one full of guys," Jax replied.

"Not my style," Nall said with a grin on his face. He had put that one on there and found out that Bri put the other one on the board. They had remained as part of the joke ever since.

"I went for nothing," Jax said. That one was usually the most popular guess.

"Well, I guess we'll find out. I personally don't think they will find anything but you never know," Nall told her.

"As long as they are not hostile, I don't care. Perhaps they'll find some food," Jax said. The food was getting rationed now and was beginning to get boring. A person could only eat the same food over and over again before it becomes boring.

"That's the second most popular choose," Nall said seeing that someone had put it on the board.

"I almost put that as well," Jax said. "Come on, I'm a bit thirsty. Let's go get some water."

"All right," Nall replied as they left the hanger for the bar.

* * *

Bri glided her viper next to Troy's as they began to move into the system. The first couple of planets were large gas giants. Several of them had rings around them like so many gas giants they had seen. Both of them kept an eye on their scanners for anything that might be unusual.

"Troy, I'm getting a lot stronger frequencies coming in over the channel," Bri said as she looked at the communications they had been following for a while.

"I know," Troy said not sure if this was going to be a good thing or bad thing. He waited as they passed anther gas giant before Bri said something to him.

"My scanner is picking up something and its not natural," Bri said. "Computer cannot identify it."

"Let's go make a pass at it and see if we can find out what it is," Troy said.

The two vipers turned and headed towards a cylindrical vessel that was clearly not natural. The scans of the ship did not indicate any life and it made Troy a bit nervous about it. It was built by something intelligent but the question of who still had to be answered.

"It's sending signals back in the direction that the other signals are coming from.

"Let's continue on then. We should find out what it is sending signals to real soon then," Troy said as they continued into the system. They passed though an asteroid belt. The next planet was quite barren but the next planet is where they received their biggest surprise.

"Troy, the signals are getting very strong," Bri said as she saw the levels continued to rise.

"The third planet, there's activity there," Troy said. His scanner was picking up a lot of different craft orbiting the planet.

"Oh boy looks like we found something for sure," Bri said. "I'm picking up another craft. It seems to be heading from the planet's surface to the nearby moon."

"My scanner is reading a small base on the moon's surface. That's probably where it is going," Troy said. "I think we should head back and report what we've found."

The two vipers turned around with their turbos left the system as quickly as they could. They had no way of knowing that they had already been picked up but not by what they thought would have picked them up.

* * *

A short balding man in his mid forties sat at a computer typing away. He had to make sure that his report would be ready for the council for his latest budget rounds. They wanted to slash his sector again and he was fighting to keep it alive. It seemed to him to be a never ending fight, but he was slowly losing ground.

Off to one side sitting at another computer was his lone assistant. She was the only one he could afford to pay. Any others that worked there did so during any spare time they could volunteer. He sighed at the thought of the council cutting even more of his funding. He thought that it just was not fair.

He was just about to decide that it was lunch time when his assistant called out his name.

"Hey boss, I think you better look at this," she said her eyes never leaving the screen.

"All right Rebecca," he said as he got up and walked over to where she was sitting. She usually only called him over to show him something strange. Usually it was something that looked like a person's face or something strange like that. They would usually laugh at it for a while and put the picture aside for later use. "What do you have," he said reaching the computer.

"I think you better sit down first," Rebecca replied scooting over to allow room for him to sit down.

Rebecca waited until he was sitting down before she pulled up the picture she had just been looking at. His face went slack at what he saw on the screen. After a few seconds and being grateful that he was sitting down he turned to look at Rebecca.

"You didn't doctor this picture right," he asked her. Part of him was hoping that she had another part of her hoping that what he saw was real.

"Nope, this is real," she replied.

"Oh boy," he said looking back at the picture. It was a shot of one of the moons, but it was what was also in the picture that was most curious. There were two fighter type looking ships that a person could make out some details from where near the bottom of the picture.

"Who do we tell," Rebecca asked.

"I don't know Becca," he replied.

* * *

Ares was not sure what to make of the early return of the patrol. He was expecting them to be gone a little bit longer but here they were on their way back already. He glanced over to Renee who was giving the patrol instructions to land and she just shook her head no. He realized that she did not have any information about why they were coming back early either.

"Tell both of them to meet me in the briefing room," Ares said to Renee then left Renee in command until Colonel Pratt came onto the bridge.

Ares quickly walked down to the briefing room realizing that even if he got there early he would have to wait for Troy and Bri to land and make it up to the room. That left him wondering what they had found. Several possibilities went though his mind. The fist was they had encountered another civilization that was advanced enough to be space bound.

"I guess we'll find out what going on soon," he said out loud to no one.

* * *

Troy and Bri quickly made their way up to the briefing room where they knew that the commander would be waiting for them. Troy was not sure what he would really be telling the commander. He was not sure who he had encountered only that one of the planets had a civilization around it. Bri was a bit quiet as she walked beside him. He was not sure if that was a good or bad sign.

"What do you think Bri," he finally asked her as they were waiting on the elevator.

"I'm not sure what to think right now. They were a bit advanced, though not as advanced as we are, but they were beginning to undertake space travel," Bri replied thoughtfully. She had been thinking about it for a while now and that was the only thing she could think of.

"That's why I got us out of there. I'm not sure if anyone spotted us or not but I really did not want to take the chance yet," Troy said. He was not sure what they had found but the thought of Earth did cross his mind.

"Now what are you thinking," Bri said looking at Troy and noticing the furrow of his eyebrows indicating that he was deep in thought again.

"Just trying to figure out if this is Earth or not," Troy replied as the elevator doors opened and they walked out towards the briefing room.

Commander Ares was waiting for them inside the room. The two pilots quickly took a seat across the table from Ares. They waited for a second before Ares said anything.

"So what did you find," Ares asked the two pilots. He was hoping for some good news.

"There is a planet with a civilization around it," Troy said. "It appears that they are on the verge of space travel. We did see a base on one of the moons and one planet had several satellites orbiting around it."

"Interesting," Ares said. "Are they as advanced as the Alliance was?"

"No, they have not reached that level of technology yet," Troy answered trying to remember everything that he could to give the commander the best information that he could.

"What about defenses or military," Ares asked.

"I didn't see anything, did you," Troy said turning to Bri.

"Nope," Bri replied as she could not think of anything that she had seen that would have been a military or base.

"It's worth checking out then," Ares said wondering how they would go about such a thing. "Any ideas as to how to approach the planet?"

"We could just send a team in," Bri said. "It would be the quickest way to find out."

"All right, captain prepare a team," Ares said then dismissed them until they were ready for the next briefing.

* * *

There was a lot of activity around her computer as she walked into work this morning. Ever since they had discovered that picture of some unusual ships groups of people at work were coming by to see for themselves. So far they had managed to keep everything quiet but no one was sure how long that would last. A few backup files were made just in case the government got involved too much.

"Morning Rebecca," her boss said as she walked into the room. She waved hi as well then went to get her normal cup of coffee that she always got before starting a normal conversation.

Pouring herself a cup of the dark liquid she added some cream and sugar before taking her first sip. She then turned to see that no one had moved from the computer that she normally worked at. Walking up she was not surprised to see that the picture was on the screen.

"It's funny, I never see most of you unless something exciting happens," Rebecca said to everyone there. They were the volunteers that made up the rest of the work force.

"Well, this is just an incredible shot," one of the others said as they looked back at the screen.

"All right everyone, let's get back to work," the boss said as he walked up to the computer. "And remember don't speak of this to anyone. If they find out we might not be able to study it anymore."

Everyone knew what that meant. The government had a way of making projects disappear if it did not meet with their standards. No one wanted this project to disappear. The probe was headed to a far planetoid at the edge of the system. There were theories that the planetoid might be harvestable for metals.

The people cleared out and everyone went either to the job or to their paying jobs. Many had come in this morning to see the picture that had been taken. Rebecca really was not that surprised once the news had gotten out. She just hoped that they kept it among themselves for a bit longer. At least until they could find out what it was or come up with a good story.

"Are you still going to be going on vacation," her boss asked her.

"Yep, one full week away from everything. I think it will do me good," she replied to his question.

"So, where are you going," he asked her probing her for details.

"If you must know I'm going with my boyfriend up to Banff World park for some relaxation," she told him knowing what was coming next.

"You're still going out with Jason, you can do better than him," her boss said.

Rebecca rolled her eyes at his statement. He always told her that. The fact that the two did not get along did not help either. Though she had to admit that things between them were getting a bit strained. She was not sure if things were going to get any better. This trip was his idea and she decided to try one last time.

"The trip was his idea and I've always wanted to go," Rebecca told him.

"All right, but take care of yourself," he told her then turned around and went back to his work. Rebecca worked away at her computer to make sure that everything was ready for her trip.

* * *

Troy walked into the briefings room after getting some sleep. They had decided to let everyone rest a bit before beginning the mission. The group would take one shuttle and be made up of four people. They had decided on Troy and Bri, Nall had volunteered and accepted into the mission and Doctor Weaver was also assigned to the mission. Weaver was already in the room along with Bri. Troy knew that Nall would be along shortly as he was finishing up his meal.

Troy had asked him if he wanted to wait to see what they had to eat down on the planet's surface but Nall said he did not know if what they had he would like. He was taking no chances. Troy could not blame him. He had eaten a little bit as well.

Nall entered the room and now everyone was there. Commander Ares glanced at the group and knew they would be the right team.

"Listen up, we have a civilization that by early scans indicates the beginning of space travel. We don't know much about them so you job is to find out as much as you can. And your primary goal is to find out if this is Earth or not," Ares told them. They all knew that if it was not then they were to go directly to their secondary goal. That was the procurement of some food.

The group left for the shuttle after the quick briefing. Renee gave them permission to launch and the shuttle left the hanger and headed towards the planet. Ares hoped that at least they would get some food out of the mission.

* * *

Bri and Troy had to do a lot of maneuvering to avoid being detected by any of the scanners around the planet. He was sure that he was probably picked up at least once but the stealth of the shuttle should provide some protection for them. Looking around they found a secluded place to land the shuttle. There were a lot of trees around and they found a small clearing that they could land in.

They had seen a small city not far away along with several smaller areas were it looked like the inhabitants of the planet were staying. The group exited the shuttle and glanced around at their surroundings. The forest hides much of what they could see. Weaver took out a small navigation aide and directed the group in the direction that they had seen the city in. The walk would be good for them and he realized that it would probably take them a bit of time to get to the city.

Dressed in brown they kind of blended into the surroundings just in case. They also kept a close eye out for anything that might or could go wrong. The four of them took their time as they walked closer to the city. They came across strip of what appeared to be a type of concrete on the ground with lines on it.

"What do you suppose this is," Bri asked looking at it.

"Don't know, but lets get across it quickly," Troy replied. The group made their way across rather quickly and were on the other side when they heard a sound coming. Hiding among the trees they watched as a vehicle flew past.

"Some sort of mode of transportation," Weaver said.

"A road," Nall said. "I read about those in history. We used them before the advent of the hover vehicles."

"Of course," Weaver said snapping his fingers.

"Seems kind of limited to me," Bri said. "A two dimensional way of travel."

"You're just used to modern travel," Troy said.

It took them a bit longer to make it to the city but they watched from a distance at the people. They were human in appearance that was for sure. Bri noticed that there were few in uniforms or wearing weapons. Troy nodded his agreement and decided that they would head back to the shuttle to change and remove their weapons. This civilization did not look dangerous to them.

On the way back the sun started to settle and the group decided that the best thing would be to wait out the night in the shuttle and begin fresh the next day.

* * *

Dawn broke thought the trees creating enough light for the group to begin their trek to the city once again. They had changed into something that it was hoped would not attract attention. Troy and Nall each had a small handheld weapon just in case but neither felt like they would need it.

Walking back to the town felt like it was shorter than the last time. This time when they crossed the road there was a bit more traffic on it than normal. Dressed a bit differently they did not feel like they had to hid, that and the fact that the planet was inhabited by humans made them feel a bit better.

Troy had radioed the Argo to let them know the progress of the mission. Commander Ares gave them the go ahead as long as they remained careful about it. It did not take much longer until they got to the outskirts of the city. The people walking around did not look quite as busy as last night but perhaps this was better for them.

"I guess its time to go mingle with the locals," Nall said from where he was standing observing the city.

"Yep," Troy replied as he looked around wondering if there was a way to come into the town. He saw a road that he realized went into the town. "Let's walk along side the road there. I think it will look less suspicious if we do that."

"Sounds good," Nall said as the group began to walk over to the road.

Walking into the town they did not gain many glances which made everyone feel a bit better. Troy walked along with Bri right beside him. He glanced around and realized that they were walking down the middle of a street full of stores. This must be some sort of market of this city Troy realized. Glancing around he realized that he did not have any way to pay for anything.

I think that we should be careful and just listen to what people are saying," Troy said to the rest of the group.

"Right," Bri replied.

* * *

Rebecca walked along beside Jason as they looked at the shops. So far the trip had been a big bust. They had not even been there one day and already they had been in an argument about what to see the next day. She had wanted to explore the town in the morning and take the hike up to Upper Johnson Falls later on that day. Jason had wanted to take the morning and go to Lake Louise and hike up to the teahouse that was up there.

Now they were walking along at the shops because he decided to take her to a place to eat for breakfast in the town. They would shop for a bit then go to Lake Louise. Rebecca glanced around and realized that they had been walking in a silence ever since they left the restaurant.

"So when are you going to get a real job," Jason finally said breaking the silence.

"I have a real job thank you," Rebecca said. It never failed he would always bring up her job and how much he disapproved of it.

"You can do better than sit at a computer and stare into space all day," he said not seeing a group of people pass and stop.

"I like it and I'm not quitting. Space exploration is the future of Earth," Rebecca said. She then turned only to have her arm caught.

"You are getting to uppity," Jason finally said getting a bit angry.

"I think you should let her go," a man said.

They turned to see a man about their age with dark hair and a mustache standing there.

"It's none of your business," Jason said looking at the man and then the three behind him. The woman with them whispered something to one of the others who just shook his head no.

"You know most beautiful woman respond better to kindness than the harsh treatment you were giving her.

Jason looked over at Rebecca and noticed that she was looking back at the stranger. "All right fine, you want her you got her. This relationship is over," Jason snarled then walked away.

Rebecca turned to watch as Jason walked away from her. She should have felt a bit bad about it but just could not. Things had not been going well with them lately and she realized that he was getting possessive about her. Perhaps this was for the best.

* * *

Troy looked on at the scene that was playing out in front of him. The woman in front of him now seemed familiar. Then he realized where he had seen her before. In the last vision he had. This was the woman that Nall had been standing with. A slow smile came to his face when he realized that they had found what they were looking for and she might be able to help them.

"What's the smile for," Bri whispered in his ear.

"Later," Troy said shaking his head.

They watched as the man the woman had been with walked off in a huff. Troy then walked up beside Nall who was still looking at the woman in front of them. Realizing that the normally aggressive and confident Nall was missing Troy decided to step in.

"Hi there, I'm Troy, and this is Nall," Troy said introducing them.

"Rebecca," the woman replied. "Nall huh, strange name."

"It's a family name," Nall replied coming out of his stupor.

"I heard you mentioned space exploration, anything interesting happen lately," Troy asked.

"If you mean UFOs then nothing lately," she said watching as they had a look of confusion on their face. A sudden thought occurred to her as she looked at them. Sure they looked right, but something about them seemed a bit strange.

"UFOs," Bri asked a bit confused.

"Perhaps we should talk privately," Rebecca said then led them to a park where they could talk in private. "We did get a picture lately of a couple of strange craft. The ships seemed to have three engines, and looked a bit like fighters."

Bri and Troy glanced at each other as Rebecca described a viper to them. They had been spotted but now what could they do.

"That and everyone knows what a UFO is, so I think that you're not from Earth are you," she said.

"Earth," Weaver said speaking up for the first time.

"Yes," Rebecca replied not sure what that had to do with anything.

"Then we're here," Weaver said looking at Troy.

Continued in New Foundations


	14. Chapter 14: New Foundations

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**New Foundations**

Troy and the others watched as Nall and their new friend, Rebecca, seemed to get along quite well. Troy glanced down to see if he could tell what Bri was thinking about what she was seeing. Much to his relief she seemed pleased with the person that he was talking to. He had the feeling that Rebecca would mean much more to Nall than anyone thought.

"What are you thinking," Bri asked as she glanced over at Troy and noticed his intent face.

"I think she might be the one to tame our wild one," Troy said.

"Really, I was just thinking the same thing," Bri replied.

"So who are your friends," Rebecca asked Nall. They had already exchanged name and she knew Troy's name but the other two she was not sure about.

"This is Gabrielle and Weaver," Nall said introducing the other two to her.

"You can call me Bri," Bri said surprising Nall. Usually until she knew the person better she would not allow them to call her by her nickname.

"All right, Bri it is," Rebecca said then turned to the other man. "Weaver is a strange name, is it your first name."

"My parents had a sense of humor," Weaver said quickly.

"I see," Rebecca said. "Now who are you really, as you're not from this planet?"

"Would you believe that we're looking for the thirteenth tribe that colonized Earth," Nall said watching as Rebecca thought about that.

"Actually no," Rebecca said. That sounded too corny for it to be the truth.

"It's actually the truth. We're from twelve colonies that are quite a distance away. It would take almost a half a yehren to get back at full speed," Weaver said. "We're all descendents of the planet Kobal."

"Kobal, never heard of it," Rebecca replied not sure what to make of them now. She liked one of them but their story just did not make much sense to her.

"What if I said we could prove it to you," Nall said suddenly.

"I'm listening," Rebecca said wondering how they would prove it to her.

"We can show her around the Argo," Nall said to Troy.

Troy thought about that for a few moments in silence. He was sure that he would have to gain permission from the commander to bring an outsider on board. This was especially true after the Able problem. But they had found Earth it seemed and sooner or later they would have to bring someone on board.

"Tell you what, We'll head back to ask for permission and come back," Troy said as the group agreed and left to head towards the shuttle that was sitting in a clearing not that far away.

* * *

Pratt had just come on duty and was now standing in the middle of the bridge with the commander being updated with everything that had gone on. There was a bit of new excitement about this but at the same time Pratt knew better than to get his hopes up. That was a disaster waiting to happen if you did that.

So far there was not much that could be done while the group was down on the planet's surface. The group had decided to wait until light came again to look around some more. The had received word not too long ago that the group was making their way back to the nearby city to see if they could find anything out.

"Incoming communiqué from the shuttle," Renee said interrupting Pratt's thoughts.

"Put it up here," Ares said turning to the monitor.

"Commander, we've got some news for you," Troy said. "We think this is Earth."

Troy's voice floated over the bridge as just about everyone heard it. The excitement level picked up quite a bit as many realized that if this really was Earth their voyage would be over. Almost immediately a buzz went up as everyone started to talk with their neighbor about what had been said.

"Well that is good new captain," Ares said. "What is your opinion about this."

"My gut feeling is yes, but for other reasons," Troy said.

Ares thought about what Troy had just said. He was not sure intellectually if this was Earth but many times it was a gut feeling that would prove to be right.

"So what else have you found out," Ares asked knowing that there was more going on than what he was saying.

"Well, I would like permission to bring someone on board the Argo," Troy said.

"And this person is," Ares asked now sure about such a thing. The Able experience was still fresh in his mind even though it had happened some time ago now.

"A friend we met named Rebecca," Troy said. "She works with their space exploration team. I think she could be a good ally."

Ares thought about it for a bit longer. There was something that Troy was not saying but he did not seem to be against this woman from coming on board. Ares decided to give his permission for the woman to come aboard.

"So what do you think," Ares asked Pratt after the conversation ended.

"I'm not sure," Pratt replied. "I guess we'll find out when they get here."

* * *

Rebecca walked with the group though the forest as they want towards their ship. Rebecca was more curious than everything else about what this ship might look like. Turning the corner she noticed a ship unlike anything she had ever seen before.

Taking shape though the trees and everything else was a box like shape. As they came closer to it she could begin to make out shapes on the 'ship'. She could tell that it was nothing that had been built on Earth. There was a door that she could see and it was not quite rectangular. It bowed out a bit on the sides with almost stealth like angles.

Troy opened the door to the ship and they walked inside. Inside Rebecca could almost feel the feeling like they were on board a smaller passenger liner. The seats were plush and looked quite comfortable to her.

Troy had gone towards the forward part of the ship which she assumed was where the pilot sat. She looked around some more for anything that might have a clue about where it was made or how it was made. Everything looked similar but had enough difference to not be made on Earth. Troy then came back to inform them that they could head to the Argo. He asked Rebecca if she needed anything from where she was staying before they left.

Rebecca thought about that for a few seconds before replying that she did not. Troy took the controls of the shuttle and they left the planet's surface.

It was not too much longer until Rebecca could see some of the planet's of their system. It was the first time that someone from Earth had seen the planets this close with their own eyes. The entire ride took less than an hour until they were approaching something that slowly grew. The back of a ship slowly came into focus for Rebecca. She had never seen anything like this before in her life.

There was a large thruster in the back and she could see what appeared to be two long hanger decks which is what they appeared to be heading towards. She could see that they were heading towards one of the hangers that was on the side of the ship. The shuttle landed on the hanger of the ship and Rebecca found herself looking around at everything that she could see out of the windows.

The shuttle door opened and the group led her off the shuttle. Waiting in the hanger bay was another person who looked like he was an important person.

"Commander," Troy said acknowledging Ares as he walked off the shuttle. "This is Rebecca," he said introducing the woman who was with them.

"Hello there, my name is Ares," he said to her watching as her face took on an amused grin.

"Ares, never heard of anyone called that before," Rebecca replied with her amusement. She wondered if they knew that the name Ares was a Greek god of war.

"It's an old name that has been passed down through my family," Ares said.

"Most of us know the name as well except for most of us its a name that one of our ancient civilizations used for their god of war," Rebecca said.

Troy, Bri and Nall each had to chuckle at that description of Ares. It did fit the man that was for sure.

"What," Rebecca said feeling out of the loop about what was going on.

"Well, it just so happens that you are on board a warship and I'm the commander of it," Ares said explaining that part.

"I guess if the shoe fits," Rebecca said earning another strange glance from the group. "Its a saying we have."

"Let us take this conversation to a more comfortable setting," Ares said as they began to walk off the bridge.

"It was you," Rebecca said as she had glanced out over the bridge and saw a viper. "I have a picture of two of those ships."

Troy and Bri glanced at each other and Ares also looked at them. He wondered if they already knew about them yet or not.

"The probe," Troy said.

"Yes, it took a picture of the planet and those ships were in it," Rebecca said.

"Does anyone else know about it," Ares asked.

"Not yet, we're keeping it quiet for now," Rebecca said.

"I see, I guess that's something we should talk about then," Ares said. He led the group towards the meeting room.

* * *

"Hey did you hear," Jax said walking up to where several of the pilots were waiting.

Gunther was sitting there hoping to hear something from what was going on. The last he had heard was Troy and his group had brought back a visitor from the planet's surface. They had been in conference ever since.

"It is Earth," she said. "I talked to Renee on the bridge when the call first came in. Troy said that we've found Earth."

"Earth," Gunther replied not sure if this was good news or not. He knew that if it was Earth then half their mission was now over. The most important part was just beginning. Now they had to begin the process of talking to the people there and making sure that they understood the danger that the Cylons posed to all of humanity.

"We're here. Our mission was a success," Jax said with excitement in her eyes.

"One part of the mission is done," Gunther replied to her.

"What do you mean," Jax asked not sure she understood what he meant.

"Now we have to evaluate their technology and make them see the danger that the Cylons pose to humanity," Gunther replied. "It may not be easy seeing how far away we are."

"And the further a person is from danger the more likely they are to do nothing," another pilot said. "Considering how far we've traveled they may not see that the Cylons pose them any danger."

"That is the reason we must persuade them that there is danger," Gunther said. "I just hope that we do it in time."

"Well for now, I'm going to celebrate," Jax said deciding not to let that damper her mood.

"It is a celebration," Gunther said with a smile. They had made it this far. Now they could concentrate on the next mission.

* * *

Ares sat back thinking about all Rebecca had told him. He was not sure that they were technologically advanced enough to really help him. But then again he wondered if they would help them out. Some of Rebecca's answers had confused him until he realized that all the people on Earth were not under one government.

Rebecca had told him that she was a citizen of the North America Confederation. A loose alliance of three countries, Canada, the United States of America and Mexico. They had come into existence when power in other parts of the world had grown in size as well. In order to maintain influence in the world against other larger confederations that had popped up in the world.

Ares wondered who he should introduce his presence to first. His first feeling was to just settle the Argo onto the lawn of the first capital building that he came across. He rejected that idea finally and decided to try and work behind the scenes to see if he could get anything done that way.

"Can I ask you a question," Rebecca finally said. She had answered several questions about Earth and its government and technology levels. At first she was glad to provide the answers but now she was not too sure that she should have been answering the questions.

Ares looked up from his thinking to look at the tall dark-haired woman. She had been quite forthcoming in her answers so he figured that he could return the favor. He nodded his head yes and waited to see what type of question she had.

"Why do you want to know all of this," she asked. "You're not planning on invading us are you?"

"Ah, no," Ares replied not even thinking of that possibility. "Here let me explain. We come from twelve colonies of humankind. Thirteen tribes left the planet Kobal, the original planet of humanity. Twelve tribes settled together while the thirteenth left for a planet called Earth. Over time the twelve colonies got involved in a war against a race called the Cylons. They had invented complex machines that eventually took over their world."

"Sounds like the Terminator or Matrix," Rebecca said to herself remembering the old flicks of the last twentieth century.

"The machine race of Cylons decided that all organic life was its enemy. We got involved trying to help out a neighbor," Ares said. "The war has been going on for a thousand of our yehrens."

"I'm not familiar with that time phrase," Rebecca said. "Is that anything like a year?"

"What is a year," Ares asked.

"It's the amount of time it takes our planet to make one complete orbit of the sun," Rebecca said.

"Ah, then yes, it's probably the most equivalent to our yehren," Ares replied.

"That's a long time to be at war," Rebecca said. Most wars on earth were shorter than that.

"Yes and now we are not doing as well. If the colonies fall then sooner or later they will find Earth," Ares said. "We're here to help Earth prepare for the war to come."

"That's a bit heavy," Rebecca said. Ares looked at Troy and Nall not understanding what she was saying. They just shrugged their shoulders.

"Is there anyone that you can think of to help prepare your planet," Ares asked.

"Well, right now I'm on vacation but I do work for the space exploration part of the government. Perhaps I can ask my boss to see who he says," Rebecca said.

Ares thought about that for a few moments. Rebecca worked for some part of the government that was involved in space exploration. This might be the best area to try and get into. If he could somehow get to talk with someone in the high command of the government then he might have a chance of persuading them that the Cylons really are a threat to them.

"All right, take someone with you so they can back up your story and who can also contact me. If you could I would like to speak with someone in the government on all of this," Ares said to her waiting to see what her response would be.

"I can't make any promises, but I'll try," Rebecca said.

* * *

Nall walked with Rebecca as she led him towards a building where she worked. It had been several days organizing everything so he would not stand out too much. One thing that he would have to get used to was the unit of time they used on Earth. Minutes, hours, and years would be something that he would have to be sure to remember. That and the phrase back in a second or just a second were phrases he was not familiar with.

The interior of the building was very different compared to what he had been used to. There were pictures hanging on the walls and several doorways all over the place. Nall wondered what all the smaller rooms were used for. Most of the rooms seemed to be empty at the moment.

"A lot of empty rooms," Nall commented just loud enough so that Rebecca could hear him.

"Yeah, cutbacks by the government. Right now there are only two of us on the full time staff. We do have about a dozen or so volunteers who love space. Several used to work here as well," Rebecca replied not wanting to really bring up how small her division was. There was just her and her boss and if the government had its way they would be cur as well.

"You mean that the government is trying to get rid of where you work," Nall asked not sure he heard her correctly.

"Yeah, they think that there is nothing left to do now," she said. "Even though we are still years away from good transportation technology for the shuttles to the moon they don't think its worthy of keeping the division open."

Nall walked past an old fading sign at the entrance to the door that they were headed though.

"NASA, what's that," Nall asked.

"That is basically the ancestor organization of the organization I work for now," Rebecca said. "It was that organization that first put a man on the moon. It's kinda sad to see such a great division come to such an unglamorous end."

"We might be able to help that," Nall said.

"I hope so," she replied spying her boss who looked rather depressed. "Hey boss," she called out to him.

"Oh, hi," he said rather bleakly raising Rebecca's alarms in her head. Something was wrong and she had a feeling that the budget had come back with bad news.

"What's wrong," she asked.

"It seems that the politicians have decided to finally cut us," he replied throwing the paper to the floor.

"And here I had good news too," Rebecca said.

"Oh, sorry," he said realizing that she had brought in another person with her. "And who is this, a new boyfriend I hope."

"Ah, well actually a bit different, but I did break up with Jason if you want to know," Rebecca said.

"Good for you Becca," the man said. "Now who is this," he asked again.

"He just might be able to help us out of this current problem," Rebecca said.

"I doubt that," he replied not sure about this.

"Let me introduce you to him, Nall, this is my boss, Robert Yukut," Rebecca said.

"Nall, a bit of a strange name," Robert said.

"Family name," Nall replied.

"So what can you do for me," Robert asked.

"Well," Nall said then spied the picture of the planet with the two vipers on it. "Wow you really did get a good shot of the vipers," he said. "Hey you don't think I can get a copy for Troy and Bri do you."

"Vipers," Robert said not sure about what was going on. He glanced at Rebecca who did nothing to stop the man.

"Oh, right, these here are vipers, fighters," Nall repeated. "The most advanced fighters of the colonies."

"Colonies," Robert asked getting more and more confused each second. "Who are you?"

"Lieutenant Nall of the Battlestar Argo of the Twelve Colonies," Nall answered.

"You've found another loony one Becca," Robert said with a shake of his head. At first Robert had like the man, now he was not too sure.

"Ah, no, they found me and he's telling you the truth," Rebecca replied.

"I'm not from Earth," Nall told him. "But I am human."

"That sounds impossible," Robert said.

"It isn't," Nall said then went and explained everything that had happened and that he knew. Nall had spoken to Troy a bit before leaving the Argo to see if he had anything he might be able to use to persuade them he was telling the truth. Troy had just told Nall to trust his gut feelings and tell the truth.

* * *

Rebecca watched Robert's face while he thought about everything that Nall had said. She had the feeling that Robert would not see the things the same way. If she had not seen the ship for herself she would not be too sure either. Now they had something that might enable them to keep their division and Robert was thinking about it.

"Robert," Rebecca said gaining his attention. Nall had gone off to the water fountain while Robert thought about it.

"What is it Becca," Robert said not sure about what they told him.

"I've been aboard their ship, it was not faked," Rebecca said. There were too many things about it that could not be faked.

"How do you know," Robert said.

"The trip was too smooth for any prankster to have driven me somewhere else. I think I would have felt if I was aboard a car or something like that," Rebecca replied.

Robert thought about that and realized that it was true. That and it might have been a bit difficult to do anything without anyone seeing it or for Rebecca feeling it.

"I don't think the people want to explore space anymore. They are too excited about the new deep ocean explorations that have been going on," Robert said honestly. That was where most of his budget had gone.

"Tell them what's in the ocean can't kill them, but what's coming can," Nall said from the doorway. "I know it's hard to explain but wait a second."

Nall walked over to the nearest computer and looked at it for a second. "Can you pick up all types of frequencies with this?"

"Yes, why," Robert said not sure what Nall was getting at.

"We're expecting a message to be coming in anytime now from the colonies," Nall said.

"All right, then what, even if I believe you there is little I can do," Robert said.

"No, but you can contact those who can," Nall said as a plan came into his mind.

"What frequency," Rebecca asked as she pulled up the software on her computer.

"Here, let me see," Nall said having to convert the units that they had with what the colonies used. He finally found it after a few minutes of working. "In this band," he told them.

"This band, but it's not gamma waves," Robert said. "You can't transmit on those frequencies."

"You can transmit on any frequency, you just have to know how to do it," Nall replied.

"Then we'll wait," Robert said, sitting down hoping for patience.

* * *

"Hey doc," a voice said from the hallway making three heads snap in the direction that the voice came from. A tall young man came into the room that they were in. He had long hair and had a pierced nose, currently with a ring.

"Jeff, what can I do for you," Robert said getting up out of his chair to greet his cousin.

"Mom was wondering if you were going to come by the house for supper tonight," Jeff said.

Rebecca turned back to her computer. When she did so she caught Nall staring at Jeff. She quickly kicked his shin to get him to stop. It worked as Nall was now looking at her with a bit of a curious look on his face.

"I think I'll be able to make it, though I might be a bit late this week," Robert said to his cousin. His sister and her family always invited him to supper every Tuesday night. Most days he would be there early and he glanced at his watch. It was later than normal but still before the time he usually came.

"Wavey unc," Jeff replied then with a quick good-bye he left to go tell his mom.

Nall looked at the two of them after Jeff left wondering about the thing in the man's nose. That looked like it had to hurt and what was the function of it. Nall could see no reason for such a thing.

"Its called a nose ring and let me guess, you don't have that were you're from," Rebecca said.

"Nope not at all," Nall replied. It was a bit shocking to him. "What purpose does it serve?"

"The aggravation of his mother," Robert said. The reaction that Nall gave to the piercing made him wonder if the man's story was really true. If it wasn't then he was one of the best actors Robert had ever seen.

"How long do we have to wait," Robert asked.

"I'm not sure, we're a long way from home making the time between the messages longer and longer as we continue to get further away," Nall said. If they remained stationary then the news would start coming in regular intervals again.

"Fair enough," Robert said.

"What does 'wavey' mean," Nall finally asked.

"It's the equivalent of the older phrases such as 'cool' and 'all right'. Basically an 'in' way to agree with what someone said or liked what someone did," Rebecca replied. She personally had never used the phrase because she did not like it.

"I see," Nall replied then settled back into waiting.

"I'm beginning to think you really aren't from around here," Robert said. He was beginning to like the man a little bit with each passing second. Now he would wait to see if the rest of his story panned out.

Continued in Political Allies


	15. Chapter 15: Political Allies

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Political Allies**

Robert sat as his desk watching the dust particles float though the sunbeam that was near his computer. He had listened to Nall and Becca talk while they were waiting for this mysterious message. Robert was not sure if anything would come or not. Robert kind of liked this young man and really hoped that what he said was true. Another part of him thought the guy was loony.

A sudden beeping sound from his computer caught his attention. He quickly got ride of the screen saver that had been on the screen replacing it with the program which he quickly scanned. His eyebrows would have gone to his hairline if he had one.

"What is it," Rebecca asked from where she was getting up from her computer to see what was going on.

"It seems our friend here is right," Robert replied. "We're getting a weak signal on this wavelength. I'm going to start recording it," he stated as he clicked a few keys on his keyboard and began to study the signal. "Becca, give me a distance point."

Rebecca quickly sat down and swiveled to her computer and began to run the program created for such a problem. It took a few minutes until the computer spit out the answer for her.

"Oh my goodness," Rebecca said as the answer appeared on her screen.

"What is it," Robert said as he quickly walked over to her computer. He stared at the screen for several seconds before finally regaining his speech ability. "That can't be right!"

"I'm running it though the computer again, just in case," Rebecca said. A moment later the computer gave the same answer as it had before.

Robert turned to look at Nall. "You were telling the truth weren't you," he said a bit amazed at what he had just seen.

"Yep," Nall replied.

"Then this just might save us," Robert said sitting down in his chair. He also realized that if everything Nall had told them was true then they could be in danger as well. He needed to call his representative that oversaw his division.

* * *

Ares and Pratt were waiting to see what type of answers they would receive once Nall had finished talking with Rebecca's boss. She was quite optimistic about the entire thing something that Ares was not too sure about right now. There were still too many things that could go wrong with this.

Renee looked up from her station and informed Ares that a communication was coming through from Lieutenant Nall. Ares said to put it up to his station and waited to hear Nall's voice.

"Commander Ares," Nall's voice said over the intercom.

"What have you found out lieutenant," Ares asked wondering what the man would say.

"I had a good meeting with Rebecca's boss, Robert. He and Rebecca made up the entire division, along with the help of some volunteers. They were able to pick up the signal from the colonies which is great for us," Nall said.

Ares agreed. Even now there were a lot of people who were flocking to the news room to see what was going on back at the colonies.

"Anyway, Robert is setting up a meeting with someone from the local government. I was wondering if you wanted to come," Nall asked. He had gotten a first step into the door and now was wondering if this was good enough to begin the meeting process.

Ares thought about this for a few more minutes. He would have to get involved sooner or later. The question became how soon did he want to get involved. He realized if he wanted to make sure that things got done correctly, he'd have to get involved quickly.

"All right, I'll be down for the meeting. Come on back to the Argo and then you can go back," Ares said to him.

"Yes sir," Nall replied then hung up.

"Colonel Pratt, you have command of the ship until I return from the planet," Ares said to his friend.

"Yes sir," Pratt said watching as Ares left to get ready.

* * *

Nall walked into the room behind Robert who he had followed down the hallway. Nall was not sure what type of person they would be meeting, but talking with Rebecca, it became clear she wanted nothing to do with him. Nall figured that the person for a politician. He was a bit glad to hear that some things did not change.

Nall looked around the room and noticed that there were three other people in the room. Each man was an older man with graying hair and one was bald as well on top but kept his hair cut short so it did not look bad. Robert sat down across the table from the three men and Nall sat down next to him.

"All right let's begin, I don't have all day to spend with this wasted project," the balding man said sounding a bit impatient to Nall.

"I thought we were to meet with three people, I see only two," another man said.

"The third one is delayed a bit," Robert replied. "I told you that the time for the meeting was too tight for the third one to meet us."

"Whatever," the bald man said. "Let's get to business then. What is it that you want?"

"I've come across a new discovery," Robert said sliding a picture across the table.

The three men looked at the picture then back at Robert. "And what is this supposed to prove. We all know what technology can do these days."

"That is a picture taken by the Leo probe," Robert said. "And the picture was not doctored at all. That is a true picture of two ships."

"Bah, what a waste of time. I should have known that you would do anything to keep you division alive," the bald man said.

"He's telling the truth," Nall said. "What you're looking at is viper class fighter."

"Now you're getting actors to help you out," the man on the right said.

"He's no actor," Robert said already tiring of the politics of everything.

"Yeah right," the bald man said.

"He is telling the truth, I am Lieutenant Nall of the Battlestar Argo, from the colony Gemini," Nall said to the three men.

"Yeah right, and I'm Gumby from Triton," the bald man said again.

Nall wanted to punch the man for what he was saying. He had spent his entire life proud of his position, and the man mocked it without understanding. He was about to say something when a knock at the door interrupted them.

Rebecca stuck her head into the room to see what was going on. Nall was sure glad to see her. Not only did he like her but it also meant that his commander would be here now.

"Ah Becca, is our other guest here then," Robert said.

"Yes," she replied opening to the door to allow a new person to walk into the room. He was wearing a blue uniform that no one in the room had ever seen before. For the three men it was not the uniform but the man's presence that took them by surprise. The bald man narrowed his eyes a bit at the man in blue. This man was not one to take lightly that was for sure and it could ruin his plans.

"Hello, my name is Commander Ares, and I am the commander of the Battlestar Argo," Ares said not waiting to be asked to sit down. He glanced at the three men with a critical eye. The one in the middle, the bald man was the one that concerned him the most. He looked to be career politician much like the one on the right. The other one was sitting there quietly and was harder to judge. Ares would wait to see what his game was.

"Commander Ares is that the best you could do Robert," the bald man said turning to look at Robert.

"It's a traditional family name, and what is your man sir," Ares said crisply but with authority that came from his yehrens of leadership.

"As if you don't know," the man sniffed. "I am Senator Trillia. Let's get this meeting over with. I'm meeting with the UWCC in one hour, which is important."

Ares frowned a bit not knowing what time increment that was for him but turned his attention back to the man. "So, the destruction of your entire planet means nothing to you then," Ares said, to the man.

"Listen, I don't know how much Robert here is paying you but I'll double it just to get this over with," the senator said. "I don't like anyone wasting my time."

"Neither do I," Ares replied, his voice dropping to an ice pitch. "And I don't like being called a liar either."

"Whatever, name your price," the senator said dismissively.

"Are all people on Earth this stupid," Ares said, turning to Robert who just shrugged.

"I can make it that you will never work in North America again," the senator said.

"Go ahead, I'm not from Earth. That and I've already got a job that I take very seriously, do you," Ares said, leaning forward to challenge the senator.

"Yes I do, and this is just a mockery. I am still canceling your funding," the senator said, looking over at Robert, then walking out of the room. The man on the right hesitated for a second before he too left leaving just one man left.

"I'm Senator Jack Williams," the man said, speaking up for the first time. "You just made an enemy out of Trillia."

"He seems to be a piece of felbercarp," Ares said. John watched Ares for a second. The way Ares had said it, it sounded like a curse word, one he said like any normal person did a cuss word. Jack paused in thought, and gave what Ares said serious consideration.

"Well he's got a lot to gain in this," Jack said.

"Yeah," Robert replied. "I can't believe that no one in the government is looking into this. He controls the majority interest in the company that would be taking the contract for what I do."

"We've been over this Robert," Jack said with patience. He had tried to get people to look into this but no one wanted to go against the senator.

"If you don't do something you might regret it later," Ares said.

"What do you mean," Jack asked.

"I'm from a group of twelve worlds that are quite a distance away. I command a warship, called the Argo, and we are fighting for our survival against a race of machines called the Cylons," Ares said.

Jack silently watched the man while he talked. He thought of himself as a good judge of character. Right now he liked this man who was sitting across from him. "Is there anyway you can back up your claims."

"I can take you to the Argo and give you a tour," Ares said. He was sensing an ally here with this man. If might be good if the man did go the Argo.

"All right, how long will it take," Jack asked.

"About three of your hours, perhaps more," Nall replied. He was going by what Rebecca had told him.

"Very well, let me clear my schedule," Jack said.

* * *

Bri made her way around the hallways looking for one person. She spotted the familiar figure standing by a window looking out into the vacuum of space.

"Hey," she said gently as she got near him.

"Huh, oh sorry Bri," Troy said looking down into the green eyes of his wing mate, friend and person who he loved very much.

"So what's going on in that mind of yours," she said giving him a nudge with her hip.

"Nothing much," he replied. "What did you think of Rebecca," he asked her.

"She seemed nice, I guess I like her," Bri said wondering why Troy was bringing that up.

"Me too," Troy said and was about to say something else when movement into the room caught his eye. He spotted the commander along with someone else who he had never seen before.

"I wonder who that is," Bri said.

"Let's go find out," Troy said giving her a nudge as they walked over to greet their commander.

* * *

"I must say that I was a bit skeptical about this but now the more I see the more I'm convinced that it's real," Jack said as he continued to look around. It was the little things that were making up his mind about all that he was seeing. The people who looked at him strangely and their reactions could not be faked very well.

The other thing was what the people were doing. They actually looked like they knew what was going on and not just there for fluff. Then there were the people who were just standing around. He asked Ares about it and told that they were off duty.

Jack thought about that. If they really were on a ship then there would be no place they could go that would be off the ship then. It made sense to him. He looked up as he spotted two crew members walking towards him. They wore a brown uniform, and had a pistol belt on.

"Ah, Captain Troy and Lieutenant Gabrielle," Ares said as two of his best pilots walked up to him. "This is Senator Jack Williams of Earth."

"Pleasure to meet you sir," Bri said as she extended her hand which the man took.

"Well I must say I was not expecting to see such lovely ladies on board a warship," Jack said.

"She's one of the better pilots on board the Argo," Troy said before Bri could say anything.

"I meant no insult, but on Earth such beauties usually try to get into the movie business, not the military," Jack said. "Our military is completely open to anyone, but when you've been at peace for so long people usually head into the business sector."

"Well when you've been at war as long as we have everyone joins the military at one time or another," Bri replied warily. She was not sure what to make of the man.

Jack thoughtfully regarded that statement that Gabrielle had made. If they had been at war for a long time like they were saying they had what would have happened to their society. He could only guess that it would be the main focus of everything. It really would be a total war where every resource would be directed at the war.

"How long have you been at war," Jack finally asked.

"For almost a thousand yehrens," Ares said. "Or a thousand of your years I believe you call them."

Jack's eyes widened in surprise at that answer. He was not expecting that long of a war. He was thinking that their war had gone on for a few years, maybe a couple of decades but not a thousand years. He could only wonder at the type of advances that had made over the years.

"That's a long time to be at war," Jack said.

"With the Cylons there can only be one winner," Troy said.

"Tell me about these Cylons," Jack asked.

"They are a race of machines," Ares replied. "They were created by another race called the Cylons. Their creations rose against them and destroyed them. In that war the machine Cylons learned to distrust any organic creatures. They went on a rampage and attacked one of our neighbors. We went to their aid to try to help them. Now we're still at war with them."

"So it's either destroy or be destroyed," Jack replied. "What about a computer virus?"

"The Cylons are no longer linked together. That was one weakness we exploited early in the war. As a result they now operate much like we do," Ares answered.

"So all you would be doing is infecting one part of many," Jack said.

"Right," Ares responded. "It's come down to an old fashion war. And they have the greater resources right now. We can't replace our loses as quickly as they can but we still have an advantage in being smarter than they are still."

"I would have thought the machines would be smarter than any of us by now," Jack answered.

"Well, in a way that's true, but their typical grunt soldier isn't that smart. They figure why waste the resources on something that will end up being destroyed," Troy said jumping into the conversation.

"Right, just give it enough to perform its duty," Jack said with a nod of his head.

The door opened and Robert walked in along with Colonel Pratt. They had taken a different tour of the ship but Robert looked like he was having fun

"This ship is amazing," Robert said as he walked up to the group. "What do you think senator?"

"We have a tough time ahead of us," Jack said thinking about that. "Tell you what, leg me see what I can do."

"Just remember, your people could be the ones that tip the scale of the war," Ares said.

"I'll remember that, but I don't know if I'll be able to tell my colleagues that, but I have a plan," Jack said returning his gaze to Robert.

They found Rebecca and Nall so that the group could head back to Earth. John was given a communicator so that he could contact Commander Ares when he finalized what he was thinking about. John had to talk with a few other senators and people before he could see if his plan would work. There was a lot of technology here and he was one who believed that they should prepare. Ares had told him that if the colonies should fall then the Cylons would end up in their space.

The group boarded the shuttle along with Nall who would go back with them. The shuttle left the Argo and headed back to Earth where John would begin his work.

sssss

Ares walked along the bridge waiting to see what would happen next. He had done his part for now. He had made contact with someone on the planet and now he would have to place his trust in another man.

"What do you think," Pratt asked coming up next to him.

"I think Senator Williams is a very intelligent man. He asked several good questions when he was on board. He was making sure this was not some sort of hoax," Ares replied.

"I got that feeling from Robert. They want to believe but there is a great deal of skepticism that they are working through," Pratt replied.

"Yes, but the senator did say that he was one not to wait until things were too late before doing something about it. I think we found the person who might be able to help us with this," Ares said.

"I think so too," Pratt said.

"Did Robert say anything to you about what he thought," Ares asked Pratt.

"Nothing too much, only that our level of technology amazed him. Our computers were a bit more ancient than theirs he said, but probably would not make much of a difference," Pratt said. "He seemed to want to work with us."

"Yes, that was the impression I got," Ares said. "Get Weaver, Troy, and Gunther in my office as soon as possible, you too. I think we should discuss some sort of plan for the next step in this mission."

"Yes sir," Pratt replied then walked away to carry out his orders.

* * *

Troy was the last person to walk into Commander Ares' office. Of course he had also been on the hanger deck when the call came in for him to report to the office. He noticed that the rest were all ready seated. Part of Troy wondered what was going on but he would find out son enough.

"Thank you all for coming. I want your advice on what the next step. I think we have an ally down on Earth but we must have a plan of what to do," Ares said.

"We need to get them to begin building a warfleet," Pratt said quickly. This was their primary mission.

"Yes, but how should we get this operation started. I don't think they are quite there technologically to undertake such an operation," Ares said.

"I should go down there and find out what I can about what they would need," Weaver answered.

"Good, but we also need to understand if they are quite ready for this. I have listened to them at it seems that their world is divided into several countries," Ares said.

"One of the moons has a substantial quantity of fuel and another moon was full of metals we would need," Troy said thinking out loud. "We could set up a construction base near them and use the two places for resources."

"Yes, I remember that moon, there is a bit of fuel, but no enough for what we need," Pratt said remembering what he had seen in the reports.

"What about that planet we passed not long ago and fueled up at. There are a lot of resources on that planet, and an atmosphere that we could breathe," Gunther replied.

"It would be far enough away from Earth so they would not be detected," Troy said.

"Hmm, it might work, we'll have to see. But it just might work," Ares said. "All right let's go with that for now. We can use the Argo to transport people back and forth between the two planets."

Ares dismissed the group feeling better now that he had a general plan to use. He would have to wait to see what John could come up with next.

* * *

Jack walked into the office where one of his friends was. He had to wait a second while the man finished his call but when he hung up he looked over to Jack with a smile on his face.

"Mr. Williams, to what to I owe the pleasure," the man said getting up and giving the man a hand shake.

"Something big Sam," Jack said to the man as he closed the door.

"Well this must be big," Sam said as he sat back down waiting for what Jack had to say.

Jack sat down before saying anything but he did lean forward. "What if I was to tell you that space travel is not only possible but much closer to reality than ever before," Jack said.

"John, we are already going to the moon, we have two research facilities up there already. There really isn't much else to do up there now," Sam said resting his elbows on the table.

"Sam, we are about to get involved into something bigger than anything we've ever seen," Jack said. "I, personally, visited a spaceship, and not just a ship, but a warship."

Sam's eyebrow's rose with that. He knew his friend was not one to talk lightly about such things. Now he was wondering what his friend was thinking about.

"At first I thought that it might be a joke that Robert was doing to keep his budget. But if it's a joke it's the most elaborate prank I've ever seen. There were details on that ship that most people would have never thought about. That and everyone seemed to know what they were doing," Jack said to his friend. "That and they did not seem too familiar with our culture. To hire that many actors would be very difficult to pull off."

"Hmm," Sam said thinking about what his friend had said. "So we're being visited by another race."

"Not another race, they are humans with advanced technology. I don't think even our military is this advanced yet," Jack said.

"All right, let's say they are real, then what," Sam said.

"We have an opportunity to gain technology, and there is something else," Jack said. "According to them there is a race out there, a machine race called the Cylons. They have been at war with each other for almost a hundred years now."

"Now it's beginning to sound like a Terminator or Matrix movie Jack," Sam said.

"I know but it's true," Jack told him. "I believe them. And if what they say is true, we could be next."

"Next," Sam said his eyebrows rising at that.

"I get the feeling that the war isn't going well anymore. I also think even if we do nothing we'll become involved anyways," Jack said to him. "It would be a waste if we don't get some technology while we can. The only problem is we can't tell others about it. I don't think the public is quite ready just yet."

"I think you're right about that. That would be quite a secret to keep you know," Sam said but his mind was already thinking about the challenge.

"What do you think," Jack asked finally after a few minutes of silence.

"It's a challenge, and it will be hard to do," Sam said before smiling. "Count me in."

"Great," Jack said.

* * *

"Commander, incoming message from Earth," Renee said turning to look at Ares.

"Put it up here," Ares said turning to his console to find out what had happened.

"Commander Ares," Nall said.

"What is the situation Lieutenant," Ares asked.

"Senator Williams just called me, or I should say Rebecca with good news. He's got some people together and they want to meet with you," Nall replied.

"That's good news, we've come up with a plan here as well. I can tell them about it and see what they think," Ares said and after getting the information about the meeting they ended the communications.

"Well it was good news," Ares said to Pratt. "Looks like you're going to be in charge again for a while."

"Hey, while you're down there, do you think you can get something to eat for us," Pratt said.

"I'll see what I can do," Ares said with a grin.

Continued in Disruptions


	16. Chapter 16: Disruptions

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Disruptions**

Ares made his way down the hallway along with Robert towards a meeting with Senator Williams. Ares was not sure what type of meeting to expect. He brought the most important information about the fight back home, and the Cylons. He only hoped those who listening would think so as well.

The walk there had been silent as both men were thinking about what would happen. Robert felt unsure about the results of the meeting. He understood that it whatever happened, it would affect his job status. He was also sure that after today he would need to find a new job. With a bit of sadness he knew that his department was going to be dismantled and handed to the private corporation.

Walking through the door to the meeting room Robert saw Senator Jack Williams and Senator Sam Harvey sitting there. Robert thought about all he had heard about the senators. Harvey was known as one who did not take anything lightly and researched everything quite extensively. Robert wondered how Jack had managed to get the senator here.

"Ah, I see that everyone is here, good," Jack said. "Commander Ares, this is Senator Sam Harvey," Jack introduced the two men to each other.

Ares could see the intelligence in the other man's eyes and waited to see what the man would say. Sam studied the commander. He had a military look about him that even most military commanders did not have. He wondered if that was from the years of war that they said they had been though. Sam liked a challenge, but worked hard so no one took him as a fool.

"Commander Ares, pleasure to meet you," Sam said.

"You too Senator Harvey," Ares replied to him.

"Senator Williams here tells me that you are not from around here," Sam said to Ares.

"He's telling the truth," Ares said. "I've traveled quite a distance to find Earth."

"Now that you've found us what is it that you want," Sam asked wanting to hear it from Ares himself.

"The mission is actually simple, yet complex and could change everything in the galaxy," Ares said. "My people have been at war with a race called the Cylons for a thousand yehrens, or years. I haven't been able to get an exact measurement between the two yet. Anyway we're losing the war."

Sam's eyebrows went up with that statement. He was not expecting to hear that from someone with such a commanding presence. He leaned forward to hear the next part that would decide whither or not they would help or not.

"If we do lose there will be nothing to stop the Cylons on their way here," Ares told them. "We encountered only one civilization on the path here and they were nowhere near ready to repel an attack from the Cylons. I undertook the mission to make sure that Earth is ready, or if you can help."

Sam sat back in his chair after he heard this. It was something that he was really not expecting to hear. This race called the Cylons did not like humans for some reason. Then he had to think about political ideas, people would oppose such a thing for sure. Many would wonder why they should help out when there was a chance that they would be left alone.

"If we did nothing would they even find us," Sam asked.

"Yes, but their entire mission is to expand their influence. The fact that you're human, will not help in any means of diplomacy with them. We tried at first as well, and that failed when they attacked us," Ares explained. "I think that it is only a matter of time before they appear in your system."

"I think we should help," Jack said. "We would have to do it undercover though."

"Yeah," Sam said. "I have a plan but if we are to build anything we don't have a place to do it close by."

"Not a problem," Ares said. "We can use the Argo to transport people to a world we saw not that far away."

"We would have to transport materials back and forth, from here to there," Sam said, thinking about it all. There were a lot of hurdles to overcome but he had the feeling that they would be able to do it.

"We might be able to set up a black project about it," Robert said.

"Yeah, but they're about to cancel your division and hand it over to a private sector. When that happens any black project would be open to the public," Jack said.

"What if we put it in the black project for the UWCC," Sam said, musing to himself. He would be able to control it and make sure no one interfered with it. That and he was sure that some useful technology would come out of it.

"Might work," Robert mused, as he thought about it. The UWCC had a lot of black projects already and one more would probably not raise any questions, unless it became too expensive. "What about expenses?"

"I think we can get around that," Sam said.

"Then we'll go for it," Jack said.

"How do we contact you to begin this," Sam asked Ares, who had been silent watching the two men talk.

"Your assistant, Rebecca, is with one of my pilots, he can contact us," Ares said looking at Robert.

"Okay, we'll start work then," Sam said, as they got up and went their own way.

* * *

Nall was walking along with Rebecca as they were waiting for Ares and Robert to come out of the building. There were few people around so they were left along for the most part.

"So is there anyone special back where you're from," Rebecca asked him.

"You know, a girl at every dock type thing," Nall replied with a smile and a shrug.

"Ah, the typical military pilot," Rebecca said.

"Actually that pretty atypical about us pilots," Nall told her. "Most of the pilots I knew have families or were orphans because of the war."

"What about you," Rebecca asked, pushing her black hair out of her eyes, the wind blew it back.

"Orphan," he replied. "I was found after an attack by the Cylons on one of the outer settlements."

"Wow, that's terrible," Rebecca said. "Do you remember your parents at all?"

"No, the attack happened when I was an infant," Nall answered. Though there were times when he had the feeling that his parents were with him, now was one of them.

"Weren't you lonely," Rebecca asked, not sure she really could fathom being an orphan.

"The orphan factuality's are very good, of course with such a long war, it became streamlined. I guess I never really considered myself alone there, just a large, dysfunctional family I guess," Nall said with a bit of a laugh.

"Well I guess the meeting went well, Robert is smiling," Rebecca said, motioning to the two men walking out of the building.

* * *

Pratt got the message from Commander Ares that he was to move the Argo closer into the system so they could close the distance between trips with the shuttles. Ares had talked with Senator Williams and they were able to gain a bit of food for the ship and its personnel. Pratt had talked with his commander for a while as he figured out what was going to happen.

Pratt went over everything that was going on. Once Ares got back on board they were going back to the planet where they were going to set up the base. Doctor Weaver was going to start the process with his team and they were going to have supplies. The Argo then would head back to pick up some volunteers to help start the construction while the senators tried to get a budget for them.

Pratt had the crew steer the ship towards the asteroid belt where they would hide among the asteroids. The ship moved though space until it reached its desired position. There was little left to do until the commander came aboard the ship and they left to the planet. Pratt also realized that it needed a name as well. They could not continue to call it the planet as much as they wanted to.

Pratt decided to talk to the commander about it. Perhaps they could make a contest for the crew to name the new base. That might improve moral even more than it was. The only thing hampering it was the taste of the food, which he hoped would improve soon.

* * *

The Battlestar Argo's scanners continued to pick up the transmissions from Earth. The signals grew stronger as the ship moved closer to the planet. Deep in the computer within its hard drive buried under layers of code something stirred like a beast waking up from hibernation.

It analyzed the signals that came in to make sure it was time. The signal was strong enough so it was time to go to work. Slowly it began to work its way through the computer until it found what it was looking for.

* * *

Commander Ares walked up to the bridge where he was sure he would find Colonel Pratt. Walking onto the bridge he was about to give the command to head to the planet where they would set up their base. He has just stepped on the bridge when chaos seemed to erupt all around him.

"Colonel, we have a problem," Renee said from where she was sitting. Her screen had suddenly gone blank and there was a bunch of unintelligible symbols that started to scroll across it.

Pratt looked up from his screen that was had gone haywire to Renee's. Her screen was doing the same thing. Glancing around he noticed that everyone's was. He was able to see that Commander Ares was now on board and he wondered what was going on.

"What's going on colonel," Ares asked, not sure about the current situation.

"Not sure commander, it just started a micron ago," Pratt replied.

"What's the system status," Ares asked. He wanted to know in case they had to do anything important.

"No one is able to bring anything up at all," Pratt replied.

Ares was beginning to wonder if his new friends on Earth were responsible for such an attack. He quickly asked if they had communications available or not. They replied that they did not at the moment, as all systems appeared down. Ares quickly told Pratt to inform Troy that a combat patrol was to be set up immediately.

Ares then sent another person off in search of Doctor Weaver, hopefully he could make any sense out of what was going on. He did not have to wait long until Weaver appeared on the bridge.

"Commander, what's going on with the computers," Weaver asked. He had been on his way up to the bridge when one of the crew from the bridge saw him. His computer had gone a bit haywire in the lab and had wondered if they were doing something on the bridge.

"That's what I was about to ask you doctor," Ares said.

"I was working when the computers just went haywire on me," Weaver said.

"Well whatever is going on we need to find it and fix it," Ares said.

* * *

Troy realized that something strange was going on when the internal monitors stopped their normal broadcast of internal going on within the ship and started to spew strange symbols. He looked around to see if he could find out what was going on but was not able to see anything.

"What's going on," Bri said standing next to Troy.

"I'm not sure," Troy said as he watched the symbols on the screen.

"Interesting, I wonder if the rest of the ship is like this or not," Bri said knowing that if the rest of the ship was then a lot of systems would be down.

"I think that we better get to the launch bay," Troy said. "Tell all the pilots that you meet that I want them all in their hanger for a meeting right away."

"All right," Bri said, wondering what he was thinking. She quickly went over, telling the others, who were sitting looking at a computer speculating on what caused it to go haywire.

"Lieutenant Bri," Pratt said, as he came up behind her making Bri spin around at her name being called. "Do you know where Captain Troy is?"

"He's heading down to Alpha launch bay. He's called a meeting of all pilots down there," Bri said.

"Good," Pratt said turning to head down there.

"What's going on colonel," Bri asked, wondering what was going on.

"We're not sure," Pratt said. "We're not even sure what's going on around us."

"Oh, that's not good," Bri said, then went to find the rest of the pilots.

* * *

Troy was standing in the middle of a group of pilots who were wondering what was going on when he spotted Colonel Pratt walking towards them. It looked like he approved what Troy was doing at the moment.

"I'm glad you're all here," Pratt said turning his attention to the group. "As many of you may know there is a problem with the computers. Something has corrupted the drives and Doctor Weaver and his team is working on getting it repaired at the moment. But we are blind in space and without communications, external or internal. The commander wants to have a combat patrol going at all times, starting now."

"But with no communications how will we launch and land?" one of them asked.

"Blind launch and landing," Troy replied.

"Consider it training," Gunther added from where he stood. They both knew the pilots disliked blind launches and landings. It meant the pilot had complete control and was practiced in case of combat damage to the ship.

"We need to know what's going on around us just in case. The commander and I don't think it has anything to do with Earth, but we need to make sure," Pratt said.

"All right, you heard the colonel," Troy said. "We'll go in groups of four, Jax, Bri, Adam and I will make the first group."

Bri stifled a groan but knew that she was going in the first group. The only problem, she hated blind landings. It was the one part of the training that she had to repeat several times before she finally did it successfully. Now she was going to do it for real, and she was not happy about it. Taking a deep breath she walked with the others to her viper.

"Communications between vipers is working, so wait until you hear the all clear from the person beside you before you launch," Troy said to the group. They would be launching in order, Troy, Bri, Adam then finally Jax. All three nodded their heads as the crew raced to prepare the ship for the launches.

Bri settled into her viper and waited to hear that Troy had launched all right. His voice came over the radio saying he was clear. Bri took a deep breath then pushed her turbo button feeling herself pushed back as her viper accelerated and out into space. She let Adam know that she was clear and went to join up with Troy.

Troy was already looking at his scanner for anything that might be out of the ordinary nearby. He did not see anything and was hopeful that the computers had malfunction, and the techs fixed it quickly. With that thought, he wondered how long the computers would be down. They had set up a contact with one other pilot, who stayed on board to listen in on the conversations, and let the bridge know what was going on.

"Green leader to Argo listener over," Troy said.

"Argo listener here, go ahead green leader," Gunther said, over the radio. He had volunteered for the listener position. He, like Troy, wanted to do something when something was going on.

"Scanners are clear at the moment, will keep in contact," Troy said and Gunther acknowledged the reply. Troy also figured that Pratt would be standing by while Ares worked on whatever the problem was.

"All right, let's stay close to the Argo for now, but keep and eye out for anything that might be dangerous," Troy said as they set up patrol paths.

* * *

Nall was getting worried. Rebecca was sitting next to him watching as Nall's face grew more concerned with each passing second.

"What's wrong," Rebecca finally asked not able to stand it anymore.

"I can't get in touch with the Argo. They were headed closer to Earth last I heard. I hope nothing happened," Nall said, worried about what might have happened.

"If you want I can try to get a picture of the Argo on the probe," Rebecca said.

"No, if that gets out then everything might get sticky," Nall said. The last thing he really wanted, after listening to Rebecca talk about her planet, was something like this coming out.

"All right, try contacting them again," Rebecca said.

"Well it has been a while since I last tried," Nall said picking up the transmitter. "Nall calling Argo, come in Argo."

"Nall, this is green leader, what's up," Nall heard Troy's voice say. That made him frown a bit. He wondered why Troy was answering his call.

"Troy, I've tried to reach the Argo with no success, is everything all right," Nall asked.

"Computer problem," Troy answered back. "Knocked out the communications, what do you need?"

"I was just going to let you know that Senators Williams and Harvey were talking it over with a few other people to get the project started," Nall said. "That and we have a few volunteers already."

"All right, though it might be a bit longer until we are ready to take people on board," Troy said.

"Understood," Nall said as they ended their conversation.

"Problem," Rebecca asked Nall.

"Yeah, it seems so," Nall said.

"Perhaps I might be able to help," Rebecca said. "I've got a laptop here that we might be able to use to see what's going on."

"I'm not sure about that. Some on board might think it was you who did it in the first place," Nall said.

"Then all the better for me to do it. I would know what to look for," Rebecca said.

"All right, I'll ask and see what they say," Nall said.

* * *

Ares was not sure what to make of the request. He half wondered if someone on Earth knew they were here thinking that they might be a threat to their planet. He also knew that at the moment they did not have a working computer on board so this might help. He had given Nall permission to bring Rebecca back on board with her stuff.

Ares received word that the shuttle had landed. He knew that the two of them would be making their way up to the bridge. They had also changed the patrol which so far had not noticed anything out of the ordinary yet. Troy was standing on the bridge along with Bri. He glanced at them and wondered if they would join anytime soon. He had seen several couples already forming during their journey and others were like Nall and Jax. They just liked to have company.

Nall and Rebecca walked onto the bridge and Ares noticed that Rebecca was carrying a bag over her shoulder. She looked around then back at Nall and said something to him that Ares did not catch.

"Commander, where can she set up," Nall asked him.

"Ah, how much room do you need," Ares asked Rebecca.

"Only enough room for this," Rebecca said pulling out a slim pad and opened it up. This was a computer Ares thought to himself. It was smaller than anything they had that was for sure. "And I'll need to see if we can even connect at all. Do you have a wireless connection or is it going hardwired?"

Ares looked at her a bit strangely, for a moment, unsure what she wanted. Weaver came to his rescue from the other side of the bridge, probably listening in on their conversation.

"Hardwire," Weaver said. "We don't do wireless because of the Cylons."

"All right, then I'll also need a place to hook up as well," Rebecca replied.

"So, you've fallen for a computer whiz," Bri said, as she leaned towards Nall.

"I didn't know she knew anything about electronics," Nall said.

"I think she might know more than most of us. Better watch yourself, or she might know more about other things as well," she said, waggling her eyebrows.

"I doubt that, I'm a master there, you're just jealous that you're still a novice," he said in a whisper then leaned toward her to whisper in her ear. "So I hear that you've been sleeping with Troy?"

Bri turned red, and tried to give him a scowl which did not work with him. "I'll have you know he's a perfect gentleman."

"You mean you sleep on opposite sides of the bed," Nall said. "How boring."

"I never said that, he's quite good," Bri said, then realizing what she had said blushed again. "You are in so much trouble," she growling, as he laughed at her.

Rebecca glanced over to where Nall was laughing with Bri. She narrowed her eyes a bit at Bri, who looked a bit too comfortable with Nall. She stopped, realizing she had no claim on Nall, and figured she would have to fix that problem. Right now. however, there was a problem at hand that she might be able to fix.

* * *

Pratt walked on the bridge, seeing everyone working except Nall, Troy and Bri who were standing off to the side of the bridge. He quickly located Commander Ares and walked over to him. He was bringing in the latest news from the patrols. He was glad that it was good new and nothing had been found. They were still sitting in space with nothing much around them though. That was good and bad. It was good in that they were not in danger of running into anything but the bad was they were in an area where they might could be seen by observations from Earth.

Ares noticed him standing there and motioned him over. He walked over and quickly gave him the report of what was going on. Ares seemed glad that nothing else happened. Pratt asked how things were going.

"Well we are just about to connect Rebecca's computer here to ours. It took a while to get the right connections for the two computers," Ares said to him.

"And there is no guarantee that the two systems will even acknowledge each other," Pratt said.

"Right," Rebecca said from where she was sitting. "All right, let's go," she stated as she clicked on the keyboard of her laptop. It was state of the art with a quad-core processors giving it extra speed along with the latest OS from CoreComputer. It was the OS that over took the old Window and Apple OS place. It was far superior to anything either company had ever made.

Ares and Weaver watched as Rebecca typed along on the computer. The first step was making the computers 'talk' to each other.

"Ah, this will be easier than I thought," Rebecca said a bit shocked. The computer recognized the Argo's computer as a computer written in BASIC. She was actually a bit surprised at that and went to work. "Good," she murmured as she continued to work. Then suddenly she was in their computer system. It was easier than she had thought for a race that had built a spaceship. The computer seemed far simpler than anything she had ever used.

"All right, I'm in," Rebecca said "Now let's see if we can find out what's going on."

Weaver took a seat next to her, to see if he could help when her computer suddenly took on a life of its own.

"What the hell," Rebecca said as she quickly typed commands into the computer. It took only a few seconds as she realized something was being transmitted to her computer. She quickly set to work to make sure that whatever it was, did not get into the kernel of the OS of her computer.

"Hey, is that supposed to happen?" Ares asked, from where he was standing.

"No," Rebecca said, then her screen turned to something else. "Now what," she said. They watched as the computer suddenly gave images which they both watched with curiosity.

"Hey, those look like schematics," Weaver said, as he continued to look at it. The screen took on a more defined image and they were able to see everything more clearly now. "Commander, this is the design of some sort, hold on, yes, I see."

Everyone waited, wondering what he was talking about. They hoped he would clarify himself quickly, before they went insane trying to figure out what he was saying.

"This is a design for metals, and carbon fibers, to help hide our ships from our scanners," Weaver said.

"Are you sure," Ares asked.

"Yes, we were working on such a thing before I left, now I have the way to produce it," Weaver said, excitement creeping into his voice.

"This could be very important," Ares said.

"Commander, our systems are coming back on-line," Renee said.

Rebecca watched as the screen ended at the end of page was a small sentence. "Does this mean anything to you?" Rebecca asked.

"Well I'll be," Ares said.

Several people looked at the screen in wonder, reading the sentence and realized what had happened.

'We thank you for your help, now that you have found Earth, we hope that this helps in your upcoming battles.'

"I guess they weren't so bad after all," Troy said, recalling the alien race they had helped. Now it looked like they were helping them back.

"Wonder why our computer didn't display it," Ares said.

"I can explain," Rebecca said. "Whoever designed it made it very graphic oriented, and that it needed a computer from both of our worlds. It would complete it cycle once it recognized both OSs."

"Well, now that that is over, we can start to take volunteers," Ares said.

"Can I get a copy of that," Weaver said to Rebecca.

"Sure," Rebecca replied.

This was going to be an interesting assignment.

Continued in A Commitment Together


	17. Chapter 17: A Commitment Together

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**A Commitment Together**

Troy sat down next to Bri at the cafeteria where a lot of the crew was eating new food from Earth. Most of it tasted quite good. The meat was something they had not had in a while, at least fresh meat. It was something called beef, and he was told it came from an animal called a cow. There was also meat from a chicken, or bird. He knew birds could fly, but chickens did not. He wondered why call an animal something when it did not do something that the others did. There was a lot to learn about Earth.

"This isn't bad," Bri said biting into her sandwich. The Earthers called it a hamburger. Bri offered a bit to Troy who found out he liked it as well.

"That is different," Troy said. "I think I could get used to these."

"Me too," Bri said.

"We should arrive at the new base shortly after we finish eating," Troy said. "Green squad is to scout the area while shuttles start bringing down crews and equipment to begin construction."

Bri nodded her head in agreement. Looking around she could see several Earthers on board. Most of them had been around areas where they could look outside. It was unlike anything they had ever seen before. Bri realized that she would be doing the same thing if she was in their position.

There seemed a mix of different people on board. They could make out some who appeared to be construction workers while others were planners. They were probably going to work closely with Doctor Weaver in setting up the construction area. At the moment he was working on the secret that they uncovered not long ago.

"So what do you think so far," Bri asked Troy.

"So far everything is going as planned, which made people nervous," Troy answered. Whenever everything went as planned something happened to mess it up. He was wondering what it would be this time.

"Well, personally if everything goes this smoothly I'll be happy," Bri said.

"I know what you mean," Troy said.

* * *

Ares stood watching the activity on the bridge, as the Argo made its way though space to the planet that would become their new base of operations. A few people had offered ideas of names for the planet and so far he had come to like a few of them. He was leaning towards Centari One. For some reason the name just felt right to him.

"Commander," a voice said behind him making him turn to see Senator Williams walking towards him.

"Jack," Ares said as the man approached him.

"Ares, boy that sounds strange," Jack said. "To me Ares is a Greek god of war."

A few muffled chuckles could be heard across the bridge as what Jack had said floated through the bridge. Ares himself was a bit amused by the name on Earth.

"Well, I'm sure some of my staff probably feel the same way," Ares said. "I am in command of a warship and my people are in a war against the Cylons."

"True, but I just think of ancient Greece and the weapons of the day, spears and swords," Jack said. "But I'll get over it. I wanted to come up here as we approached the planet, or Centari One as it will be called."

"Yes, we're about to enter the system," Ares said. "We should begin our preparations now for landing on the planet."

"Good, I'll go let my people know," Jack said.

Ares watched the man go and realized that the more they talked the more they had in common and the more they did not have in common. The basic emotions and feelings were the same along with a lot of ideas. They were different in the way they viewed computers. It was a bit of a shock to realize that Earth was more advanced in that area then they were. That would be tested against what they knew of the Cylons.

"Take us into orbit around Centari One," Ares said to the bridge crew. He walked out to join Jack in briefing the group in what they were going to be doing on the planet in this first stage.

* * *

Nall and Rebecca walked towards the briefing room where a group of them would be briefed on what the procedures for scouting the planet, especially for spots to begin construction of their bases. Nall was still amazed at the things Rebecca's laptop could do. They had spent the majority of the trip playing a game that she had on it. Nall was simply amazed at the detail that the computer was able to generate.

He noticed Troy and Bri already in the room standing off to one side. He walked over to where they were as Rebecca followed them. Bri gave him a smile, which he returned back at her.

Troy watched the upcoming interaction as Nall and Bri said hello to each other with their normal bantering interaction. He was looking more at Rebecca as she looked at Bri. He could see that she seemed a bit jealous of what Bri was doing. He found it a bit funny considering Rebecca did not have to worry about it.

Troy also realized that it was something that he probably did when he was first getting to know Bri. He wondered if he should do anything just yet or let it go and watch it for now. With a shake of his head he realized that he was becoming like them in this regard. The two of them had sucked him into their world of teasing and he never really knew it.

"Thank you all for coming," Ares said in front of the room. Beside him Colonel Pratt and one of the senators were standing waiting for their part of the presentation.

"We are now in orbit around Centari One, this planet will form the basis of our new base. To my crew I wish to say that the voyage has been long and we will soon have a new base, friends and home. To those from Earth I welcome you aboard for this mission. Many of you don't know what's going on only that your skills are required and what you have heard from my crew," Ares said to the group looking out at everyone. "First off, yes, this ship and its crew are not from Earth. We are from a group of Twelve Colonies far away from here. They are currently struggling for survival which is why we are here. It's a twofold mission, one to warn you in case we lose our war, the second is to see if you'll help."

Ares looked around the room as he said that watching a couple of the faces frown at that comment. He knew that part of the mission would take time for those on Earth to understand. If Earth had been a bit more advanced in space travel then it might have been easier for them to believe.

"We're going to have those of you who are construction experts with the first group to scan the planet. What we need is a good place for a military base," Ares said.

"How large," one man said.

"As large as possible," Ares said. "Our enemy, the Cylons will not stop if they get by our military. The Earth will need a large military to stop them."

The senator stepped out next to the commander. "Ben, Greg and Ryan will stay here to discuss the preparations of a space dock, the others will split up between the shuttles to scan the planet. Once done and sites identified, then we'll discuss where to begin construction of the base," he said to the group.

"All right, the pilots for the shuttles will be, Troy and Bri," Ares said watching as the two stepped forward. "Nall and Jax, Gunther and Cronus, and Markus and Jason."

The group split up and headed towards the hanger. The people from Earth split up quite evenly to go with the four shuttles. There were also a few people from Weaver's team along in each shuttle to help out and give their input as best as they could. Most of the pilots did not know much about construction so they would not help much for this mission.

Rebecca said good-bye to Nall watching as he left with Bri and the others. Her eyes narrowed a bit as Nall and Bri bumped each other as they walked out of the room. Rebecca realized that she wanted Nall she would have to get that blonde floozy out of the picture.

* * *

"Hey Nall, I hear you've spent time on Earth," Jax said as she walked up to him after leaving the room. She had seen the dark-haired woman who had walked in with Nall and the look that she had given Bri as the two of them walked out.

"Yeah, I was the contact for the senators on Earth to the Argo," Nall said. "I stayed with Rebecca, she's a nice person."

"Is that the tall dark-haired woman you walked in with," Jax asked.

"Yeah, why you know her or something," Nall asked.

"No, just wondering," Jax said. "So is she your latest fling?"

"No," Nall said a bit too quickly and Jax had her answer. "She's just, well she's nice to spend time with."

"And I'm not," Jax said putting a hand over her chest in a mocking gesture.

"No, no," Nall said. "It's just she's nice, that's all."

"All right," Jax said turning so Nall would not see her grin. Jax had the feeling that Nall liked this Rebecca more than he was saying. Perhaps this would be the person to tame the untamable Nall after all.

They entered their shuttle along with the other passengers and settled down in the pilot's seats.

"So how many times have you done this," one man said to them.

"Don't worry, you're perfectly safe. We've done this many times," Nall replied as he started up the shuttles engines.

"Core command to shuttle Argo three, you're clear for launch, launch when ready," Renee's voice said over the intercom.

"Shuttle three to core command, we copy," Jax said as she made sure the flight controls transferred to the computer. "All right, buckle up everyone."

With a glance into the passenger cabin to make sure everyone was sitting Nall turned back and nodded to Jax. They hit the thruster button and the shuttle launched out of the shuttle bay of the Argo and headed towards the planet.

* * *

Four shuttles made their way towards the planet, designated Centari One. Ares could only hope that the group found a good place to begin their operations. They needed two things, fuel and supplies. Some supplies were coming from Earth, but other supplies produced right here on this planet. He knew that it was going to be a challenge but he looked forward to it.

"How long do you think it will take your engineers to figure out where to build and mine," Pratt asked the two men as he walked up to the command platform where Ares and the senator was standing.

"I think it all revolves around ho w many people we have working and how easy it will be to get the ore out of the ground," Jack said from where he was standing.

"We need fuel and materials to build ships and the base," Ares said.

"Right," Jack said knowing that unlike the base on the moon this one would be a bit easier. With the technology that the Colonials had it would make building in space a bit easier. They had a few skilled people who could teach the others..

"The next few years will be interesting," Robert said who was standing just off the command section of the bridge.

Ares had to agree with him with that statement. They had to overcome several challenges before Earth would be ready to take on the Cylons in battle. What he wanted to do now was prepare them to build ships and other military supplies that might help in the war.

Ares looked around and noticed that his crew was busy at work and wondered what the future held for them. Would they live the rest of their lives here with the people from Earth, or would they be able to return to the Colonies one day. That was something that he felt only time would tell.

* * *

Troy and Bri piloted the shuttle across the surface of the planet while the engineers looked at the scanners and the layout of the surface of the planet below them. They were looking for a place that might be best for them to begin their base of operations. At the moment they were looking for something that was close to raw materials and fuel and still had a flat enough area to build a base.

"Hold it, what about right there," one person said pointing to a place not that far away.

The others on the shuttle glanced at where he had pointed. Troy turned the shuttle over to that area for a closer inspection of the land in question. They looked at the scans and realized that a fuel source was close by, raw materials was a bit further away but it might be the best location at the moment.

"Let's land and check out the area first hand," Bri suggested to them. Troy figured that was a good idea as the shuttle turned down to land in the area. Bri sent up a message to the Argo to let them know that they might have found something.

The group got out and began to wonder around. The atmosphere was a bit thinner than what they were expecting and that was a bit of a concern for everyone. Some of the engineers thought that if they could planet some trees it might help produce the atmosphere better. It was breathable at least just the level of oxygen was a bit below what the scientists would have liked.

Troy looked around the area seeing that it was not quite flat like it looked like from above. There were a couple of areas that the builders would have to build around. A few larger hills than he would have liked but nothing that would not hinder the building too much.

"It's kind of boring," Bri said, looking over to where Troy was standing.

"Yeah, but at least you can see anything that comes your way," Troy said, looking around the deserted landscape. "Let's take a soil sample back as well if they are thinking about planting trees or anything else here."

"Good idea," Bri said heading back inside to the shuttle to get the equipment. Troy watched her all the way and back. "What, do I have something on backwards," Bri asked feeling slightly uncomfortable about Troy staring at her so much.

"Just admiring the view," Troy said with a smile.

"Oh, is that all," Bri said, feeling a bit better. Then with a bit more of a swagger in her step she walked over to get a soil sample.

Troy knew that their relationship had grown over the last year and that they did love each other. Now that they had found Earth would it be time for him to ask her. He waged a quick war with himself and realized that if he did nothing he might do nothing for the rest of his life. With a deep breath he walked over to where Bri crouched down gathering the soil sample.

He waited until she had stood back up and she was looking right at him before he said anything. "Bri, I was wondering, no, I'm hoping that you would do me the honor of joining with me," he said taking her hands in his as he waited for her answer. He was not sure what type of answer to expect and could only hold his breath until she did answer.

Bri's breath caught as she heard the words that he said to her. Her heart began to pound twice as fast as she realized that he really was asking her. She wondered about Troy's feelings towards her and a future with him.

"Yes," she finally said causing a smile to appear on his face as he gave her a hug and a kiss to help seal the commitment.

At that moment the rest of the group came up to where they were standing. A few of them had grins on their faces at the scene that Bri and Troy were making. Troy was grinning and Bri radiated happiness as she looked around. Doctor Weaver's assistant looked between the two of them and grinned at them. He had figured out what had happened. Troy had finally gathered the courage to propose to Bri.

"Are we done here," Troy asked the group wondering if they had collected everything that they needed.

"For now we're done," one of the men said. "This spot appears perfect, but we'll see what the other teams come up with before making a final decision.

The group headed back to the shuttle to continue their exploration of the planet then head back to the Argo.

* * *

Nall and Jax continued to fly their arranged path with their group but they had not found anything worthwhile. They had come across a few scattered fields of resources that would be helpful later on but nothing that would constitute a base like they wanted.

"Well this hasn't been a very successful flight for a base," Jax said as they finished their patrol and headed back to the Argo which was in orbit around the planet.

"Nope, I hope that the others have better luck than we did," Nall replied. Their area had too many mountains to construct a good base.

"I hope so too, I did hear that a couple of the others landed to investigate some promising areas," Jax replied as the Argo came into view.

"Yeah, and it sounded like Troy and Bri were a bit excited about something else," Nall said.

"Yeah, they did sound a bit too excited," Jax said thinking about it. "Perhaps they think they found the perfect base."

"Perhaps, but I just don't think so," Nall said thinking about the tone he had heard in Bri's voice.

"I guess we'll find out," Jax said as they piloted the shuttle into the hanger of the Argo.

"I guess so," Nall replied as the shuttle landed on the hanger. They were the first ones back and would be the first to debrief the commander along with the Earth advisors that were on board.

* * *

Nall watched as Bri and Troy walked in along with the others from their shuttle. He could see the happiness that radiated from Bri as she walked into the room. Something had happened and he wanted to find out what happened. He listened to what they had found and so far it seemed to be the best spot so far. There was little that he could see that the spot did not have.

Nall kept glancing back to Bri and Troy. Something was definitely up with them making him want to know what it was. He hated to be left out in the dark about things.

"Well they seem happy," Jax said as she leaned over to whisper what she said to Nall.

"Yeah they do," Nall replied. Now he was positive that something had happened and he was determined to find out what it was.

The rest of the briefing when quite well. They had decided to investigate the landing zone that Bri and Troy had found first. It seemed the best one that they had found so far. The group split up as the scientist and construction workers went over the data of the site. Nall made his way over to where Troy and Bri were standing.

"So how are you two doing," Nall said, as he walked over and placed a hand on Bri's shoulder.

"Ah ah, better be careful, you're looking at a recently proposed to woman now," Bri said, as she stood up to her full height which was still shorter than anyone else in the room.

"Well I'll be," Nall said turning to Troy. "You finally did it, or did she get tired of waiting, I hear that happens to her if you tease her enough," he said, with a smile which earned him a sharp elbow to his ribs.

"And just how would you know," Bri said, green eyes boring into his own eyes.

"Cause I've been around you enough to know," Nall said, putting an arm around her. "Seriously though congratulations," he suddenly said then gave her a hug.

Troy was about to say something when movement by the door caught his eye. He noticed Rebecca walk out of the room and wondered what happened there. Shrugging it off with a feeling that things will work out by his vision he turned back to Nall and Bri.

"So I guess this means you won't be a virgin anymore," Troy heard Nall say to Bri only to see her turn red. "Or are you not so innocent anymore? Do you need me during the honeymoon to give you pointers as well?"

Troy could only laugh at his so to be wife's face, as she turned even redder than she had been before. Nall was heading for a comeback from Bri and in a way he only hoped he was there for it. He had come to enjoy their bantering.

"I think you really do enjoy the poundings and humiliation that Bri gives you Nall," Troy finally said breaking the look the two were giving each other. They decided to make their way out of the room to celebrate their joining.

* * *

"Well it's about time," Pratt said from where he was standing watching what happened, as he turned to Ares after Troy, Bri and Nall walked out of the room.

"I think I have to agree with you there my friend," Ares said, having heard most of the conversation from where he was as well.

"You know a lot of people are going to be disappointed," Pratt said with a bit of a smile.

"Oh really," Ares said with a frown on his face. He had not heard of anyone else trying to romance either Bri or Troy.

"Yep, they won't win the contest, when will they get joined, and the which one will ask contest," Pratt said smiling. "I think I have a good chance of winning though."

Ares shook his head not really sure how to reply to that. It really did not surprise him to hear of the contest though. They had contests for just about anything and everything that someone could think of. It was a way to pass the time while they had been in space.

"I need to get back up to the bridge, we're expecting the next news report from the colonies and I want to see how the war effort is going," Ares said to his friend. "Let me know what happens here."

Ares then walked out of the room and headed towards the bridge. Pratt looked around noticing that everyone was busy working on the data that had come from the planet's surface. He had the feeling that they would be making up their minds soon. Walking over to where they were he involved himself in the discussion which was just about to wind down anyways. They had decided where they were going to build the first base. The place where Bri and Troy had landed to inspect a potential spot for a base. With a quick agreement Pratt went to tell Ares what they had decided so they could begin the next part of the mission.

Continued in Wedding Bells


	18. Chapter 18: Wedding Bells

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Wedding Bells**

Troy walked down to find out where Bri was. He wanted to see if she had made up her mind of when to have the wedding. Then there was also the problem of Nall and Rebecca. She had not talked to Nall in quite a while and he had a feeling that he knew why. He wanted to talk to Bri about making sure that they invited Rebecca to the wedding. He had a feeling that the action would help both of them out.

Turning the corner he noticed that Rebecca was walking away from the rec room. He could see that she appeared a bit upset by something. Turning into the rec room he found Bri and Nall standing there. Bri was on her tip toes staring right into Nall's eyes. Nall had a mischievous grin on his face that told Troy that they had been up to no good already.

"All right, what happened now," Troy asked wondering about all of this.

"Ask him," Bri said with a raised eyebrow not taking her eyes off Nall.

"I just asked if she wanted me to help her take some pictures for the joining for you," Nall said giving the end of his mustache a twirl with one hand.

"And," Bri said, now tapping her foot in an impatient manner.

"Well I suggested she be naked," Nall said with a grin.

"Pervert," Bri said, reaching up with both hands he gripped both ends of his mustache and pulled down.

"Hey, ow," Nall replied as she brought him down to her level.

"Never," Bri said, now nose to nose with him.

"Bri," Troy said getting her attention. "Do we have a date yet?"

"I was thinking about once we get to back to Earth," Bri said.

"Sound good," Troy replied. "I was thinking that we should invite Rebecca as well."

"Ah, that might not be a good idea," Nall said. Lately he seemed to think they had done something that bothered Rebecca. He had been sure that she liked him, as much as he did her. She had for some reason distanced herself from him.

"Actually it might be a good idea," Troy replied. "You can ask her to be your date."

"I don't know guys," Nall said sounding very unlike the man who was usually so confident about asking woman out.

"Did I hear that you have a date picked out yet," Jax said as she came over to where they were standing.

"Yep," Bri replied. "I've got some things to work out so I'll talk to you all later."

Troy watched Bri walk out of the room then turned to face the other two standing there with grins on their faces. "What," he asked them wondering what he had missed.

"Nothing," Jax replied as she looked at Nall. They had watched how Troy's eyes had followed Bri until she had walked out the door. If anyone did not see how attached they were they were blind.

"Well, I need to get going. I'm on patrol before we head back to Earth," Jax said. She left the room leaving Nall and Troy in the rec room.

* * *

Bri made her way to the commander's office hoping that he was in there. Things were a bit busy and she wanted to ask him if the date she had set up would work for him. She arrived at the door and knocked on it hoping that he was in there and not busy. The door chimed open and she walked in grateful to see that he was not too busy at the moment.

Ares watched as Bri made her way into his office. He had expected her to show up to discuss the upcoming joining. He wondered if they had finally agreed on a date to join.

"I hear that congratulations are in order," Ares said to her, as she sat down across from him. He watched as a smile broke out across Bri's face.

"Thanks," Bri said, a bit excitedly. "For a while I wondered about it myself then realized that we were waiting for a right moment."

"So you're telling me that a remote planet was the most romantic place," Ares said, with a bit of a smile on his face.

Bri opened her mouth then closed it as she thought about that before answering. "I think we were both waiting for the right time and that came while we were on the planet's surface."

"All right that sounds fair enough to me. You do know that everyone on board was wondering when you would join right," Ares said. There was a lot of speculation of when Troy would propose after they had found Earth.

"I know," Bri replied. "I actually came here to see about a date for our joining."

Ares leaned forward to hear this. It was what he was expecting from her. He was a bit curious about when and where they would have the ceremony.

"I was thinking that we could have it once we made it back to Earth," Bri said. She had thought about it and they might have enough time to have a couple of nights on Earth to celebrate their joining.

"That's sounds like a wonderful plan to me," Ares replied. "Hoping that you might be able to spend some time on the planet's surface to celebrate?"

"Yeah," Bri said, feeling a bit of heat on her face as she blushed a bit at the thought of what they would probably be doing.

"Taking in the sights on Earth might be a good thing. We need to understand their culture more if we are to mix with their people. It's a good idea," Ares said, knowing that they probably would not et out of their room while they were on the planet's surface. He would have to talk with Jack and Robert about securing a place for the newly joined couple. "I'll see what I can do for you two."

"Thanks commander," Bri said, jumping up and giving Ares a hug over his desk. She then resumed her professional manor and excused herself leaving Ares by himself.

With a grin he walked over to the intercom to get Robert and Jack in his office so he could talk with them about it.

* * *

Nall was standing in the main area of the rec room waiting for whatever happened next. Bri came walking into the room with a smile on her face and determination in her step as she approached him. He knew that she had something on her mind from her actions as she approached him. He stood waiting until she was right next to him.

"Hey shortie," Nall said, as a greeting, watching as she pulled herself up to her full height, which was still shorter than almost everyone else on board.

"I am not short," she said, punctuating her last word with a jab into his chest.

"All right," Nall said with a laugh. "What's up," he finally asked.

"Well, I was wondering if you would do me a favor," she asked him. "I was hoping that you would be the one who gives me away," she asked suddenly quite shy about asking him this.

"Me," Nall replied a bit startled by the request. It was something that he was not expecting to hear that was for sure.

"You're my family," Bri replied, hoping that he would say he would.

"I guess the only thing I can say is yes, I would be honored to do it," he told her.

"Yes," Bri said, jumping up and giving him a quick hug along with a kiss before leaving the room leaving Nall standing there a bit stunned by her actions so he missed Rebecca walking in and walking back out again.

* * *

Robert went looking for Rebecca. He had not seen her in a quite a while now and was beginning to wonder where she was. He found her standing by the window looking out into space. He had never seen her so withdrawn in a long time and wondered what had happened. He walked over to her intent to find out what was going on. He stood there for a few minutes before she acknowledged that he was there.

"Want to talk about it," Robert asked, looking into the blue eyes that Rebecca had. If he had been thirty years younger and not married he would ask her out for a date, but he had to settle for a more fatherly role instead.

"Nothing to talk about," Rebecca replied. She had heard the rumor that Bri was getting joined. When she had inquired a bit more she found out that a joining was just like their marriage. The final straw was seeing Bri give Nall a kiss as she walked into the room not long ago.

Robert knew then that something was bothering Rebecca. He wondered how much she liked Nall. He was defiantly different from anyone else that she had dated. He also had a feeling that there was more going on than he knew. He tried again to talk to her but got the same reply.

"Well when you ready to talk let me know," Robert said when a request came to him asking him if he would report to Commander Ares' office. With a quick good-bye and a promise that he would talk to her later he left to head to the commander's office.

* * *

Ares watched as Robert walked into his office along with Sam. He could only hope that they had an idea for such a thing or that there was such a tradition on Earth.

"Welcome gentlemen, have a seat," he said motioning for them to sit down. "What I'm about to ask you is strictly personal."

Sam and Robert waited to see what Ares had to say. They had both thought that this would have something to do with the base that they were currently designing. Perhaps this would give the two men more insight into what was really happening wanted.

"When we get back to Earth space a couple of crewmembers have asked me to join them," Ares said.

"Join them," Robert asked, not really sure he understood what Ares was talking about. He had an idea but was going to wait to see if his idea was correct.

"Yes, it's when two people who love each other make lifelong commitments to each other. It is a sacred traditional among our people," Ares answered.

"Much like marriage is on our planet," Sam said, but still was not sure why Ares needed to see them and voiced his opinion out loud.

"Normally we would not need your help in such a thing, but the couple usually spends some time along after the joining," Ares said. "And here on board a battlestar there is little room for such a thing."

"Oh, you need a honeymoon for the newly joined couple," Robert said as something clicked in his mind. This might be the reason Rebecca was being so distant.

"Yes," Ares said a bit relieved that the people on Earth seemed to have the same type of customs that they did. He knew that the religions would probably be different but they would not think that Troy and Bri would be strange for being on a 'honeymoon' as Robert called it.

"I think I can manage something," Sam said thinking about it. He could contact his wife who loved to plan trips. This would be something she would love. "In face I know just the person do plan it," he said with a smile. "My wife loves to plan trips and I'm sure she would be overjoyed to do such a thing and money we can handle for now."

"Yes, we should be able to straighten that out in time and we can repay you," Ares said. Economics was something that would take time to do but it was something that he knew about when he left.

The finished up and Sam got up to find out how the design team was making out. Robert waited a bit until Sam left. He was wondering if the joining somehow involved Nall or not. Rebecca seemed to like him and if the joining involved him, then it would explain her behavior lately.

"Can I ask you a quick question," Robert asked.

"Sure," Ares said, wondering what Robert had to ask.

"Does this joining involve the pilot Nall that we met earlier," Robert asked.

"No, but two of his friends," Ares said. "Why?"

"Just trying to figure someone's attitude out," Robert said. Robert walked off hoping that he would be able to figure out what was going on with Rebecca.

* * *

Jax walked around looking for Nall. The man had disappeared somehow on the ship. It could happen from time to time but never for such a long period of time. She walked into the pilots briefing room and noticed the man she was looking for. He had been in a strange mood lately and she was going to find out why.

"What's up Nall," Jax said, as she sat down next to him.

"Nothing much," Nall said not moving from his seat.

"Yeah right, tell that to someone who believes it," Jax replied.

"I'm just doing some thinking," Nall said, not elaborating too much about everything.

"I think you're a bit heart broken," Jax said. "You've been in love with Bri for so long that you've been able to set any real emotion aside for anyone else. Now Bri is getting married and you've given you're heart to someone else."

Nall looked up at her but did not say anything. He was not sure that he wanted to thing about that just yet. He was still trying to get over the fact that Bri had wanted him to give her away to Troy for their joining.

"And I suppose you know who it is that I've given my heart to," Nall asked, wondering if everyone knew.

"Yep, but I think you'll figure it out in time," Jax said. "Well I've got to go, Bri is asking me to help her with her dress for the joining."

Nall watched Jax leave. Inside he knew what Jax was talking about. The one thing that she did not seem to know was the person he really liked did not want to seem to talk to him. He had gone over everything that he had said or done and could not think of anything that could have caused it. Maybe it was something different in the culture of the two groups that he had not known.

Deciding that there was more work to be done he left to make sure that his formal dress uniform was ready for the joining. For now he would concentrate on making sure that this was a good day for Bri and Troy.

* * *

Jax walked up to where Rebecca was sitting. The voyage back to Earth had been quite normal and now they were just moments away from the joining. Jax had noticed that Rebecca had not done anything lately and after talking with everyone she knew about her and Nall she had it figured out. Now she just had to get Rebecca to the joining to see everything. For some reason Rebecca thought that Bri and Nall were getting joined. Sure Jax could just tell Rebecca that Bri was joining Troy but where was the fun in that.

"Hey," Jax said sitting down next to Rebecca. "You staying here all day?"

"Why not, seems like a good idea to me," Rebecca said.

"You do know that a joining is taking place right, and that you have been invited by the groom," Jax said to her.

"Wonderful," Rebecca said. The last thing she wanted to do was go to this joining. What did that small blonde have that she did not? It was the question that had gone around in her mind for a while now.

"I think it will cheer you up a bit, in fact if it doesn't I'll do whatever you want me to do," Jax said, with confidence.

"That's a pretty tall order there if it doesn't," Rebecca said. Perhaps she could go just so she could leave earlier. "All right, fine I'll go, but don't expect a miracle."

"Great," Jax said. "I'll meet you back here in a bit then."

Jax walked out to get ready for the wedding. She had her formal uniform laid out already. But first she would make a detour and see if Troy was around anywhere. She did not have to look too far to find him.

"So, how's the groom," Jax said, as she walked in. Troy was the only one in the room at the moment.

"Nervous, how's that," he said, putting the final touches on his outfit, including the medals he had won over the years.

"I do have some good news," Jax said. "I convinced Rebecca to come."

"Really, did you tell her that I invited her," Troy said. "For some reason she doesn't like Bri that much."

"Yeah, she thinks that Bri is marrying Nall," Jax said.

"What," Troy said turning to look at Jax. "You're serous. Did you tell her who the wedding was for?'

"Nope, this should be fun," Jax said with a smile.

"And here I thought Nall was the one with a sick sense of humor," Troy said, with a groan.

"It should be fun, especially at the beginning of the ceremony," Jax said, grinning even more.

"Great," Troy said knowing that at the beginning of the ceremony that Bri would be with Nall. He was going to be the one giving Bri away to him. Usually a family member does that but most of the crew were orphans so a close friend would stand in instead.

"Well I need to get going. I picking her up at the rec room," Jax said. "And I need to change so I'll see you later."

* * *

Bri looked at herself in the mirror for about the hundredth time wondering if the dress looked all right. She fussed with the sleeves again as if to make them look better or something.

"You look fine," Renee said from where she was standing watching Bri.

"Are you sure," Bri asked as a part of her insecure personally came out. "You don't think I should have gone with the other dress do you?"

"No, and even if I did there is no time for you to change," Renee said to the nervous bride. Glancing at the time, she noticed that they would need to get going. "You look great," Renee said. "Now we need to get going if we are to make it on time."

"Its time," Bri said, her eyes widening at the thought. She was going to be joined in a few moments from now and she was scared stiff.

"Bri, you're going to do just fine. It perfectly reasonable for you to be nervous as well, but remember we're all friends here and we all know how much you two love each other," Renee said. "Troy is not going to back out either."

"How did you know that's what I was thinking," Bri asked.

"Your joining isn't the first one I've been to Bri," Renee said, with a chuckle. "I think it's normal."

"All right," Bri said, as she followed Renee out of the room and towards the ceremony room of the Argo.

* * *

Jax led Rebecca into the room where there were several people standing around. It was unlike a wedding on Earth where everyone was sitting down. In the center of the room stood the commander of the Argo, Ares, along with Troy and Nall. It appeared that Bri had not shown up just yet.

Troy noticed that Nall had already spotted Rebecca walking into the room. He nudged him a bit to gain his attention. Nall looked over to look at Troy and what he wanted.

"Why don't you just talk with her after the joining," Troy said, in a whisper.

"Yeah right, she won't talk to me and I don't know why," Nall said.

"Well according to Jax that's because she thinks you're joining with Bri," Troy said.

"What," Nall said in shock at what he had just been told. He wanted to march on over there and talk to her but it was that moment that Bri walked into the room. She walked over to him and took his hand and gave him a kiss on the cheek while whispering thanks to him.

Nall did not have much time to think about everything as it was now his duty. He listened to Ares while he went thought the opening of the ceremony. He then got to the point where it was his part of the ceremony.

"Who here gives Gabrielle to be joined," Ares said.

"I do," Nall said proudly. He took Bri's hand and placed it into Troy's.

Jax watched Rebecca as at first she looked like she wanted to leave to a strange confused look on her face. She turned to Jax and asked her a question. "I thought Nall was marrying Bri," she whispered.

"Bri's marrying Troy, Nall is giving Bri away," Jax replied, then turned back to the ceremony.

Troy and Bri were too busy concentrating on each other to notice what was going on between Nall and Rebecca. Both of them were nervous about everything. The vows then came and each of them made their promise of devotion and love to each other and the group.

"I now pronounce you sealed forever in this life and the next," Ares said as he laid his hand on top of theirs. "You may kiss your wife."

Cheers went up as Troy bent down a bit to kiss Bri. When they finally broke apart Troy circled his arms around his wife. He felt very happy about how his life was turning out now and realized that accepting this mission was the best thing he had ever done.

* * *

The group broke up a bit to celebrate with the newly joined couple. Jax watched Rebecca as Nall made his way over to where Rebecca was standing.

"Hi," Nall finally said, as he came up to her. He was not sure what to expect from her.

"I think I owe you a bit of an apology by the way I acted," Rebecca said. She had really thought that Nall was going to be marrying Bri. "I thought that you and Bri were getting joined."

"So you're saying that you like me," Nall asked, hoping that the answer would be yes.

"Yes, I guess that's why I was so jealous of her," Rebecca said. "You seemed so friendly with her and yet with me you seem to be someone else."

"Don't get me wrong but I do love Bri, but she never returned the way I wanted it," Nall said, turning to see where Troy and Bri were standing. "I was my cocky self and she shot me down. I guess you can look at it like this, I can tell her anything and she will still be my friend. I guess she sees me as a brother."

"Oh, then all of that stuff between you that I saw," Rebecca asked.

"Its how we always act towards each other," Nall said.

"You two are weird then," Rebecca said.

"And I'll be the first on to agree with you," a voice said, from behind them. They turned around and saw Troy and Bri standing there. "I think I can understand how you feel though," Troy said looking at Rebecca.

"You can," she said, not sure if he would or not.

"Yep, I was crazy about Bri from the moment I met her. But the way she and Nall reacted to each other I thought that they were lovers or something," Troy said. "It's a strange relationship that is for sure."

"Then you're not after him in any way," Rebecca said looking at Bri.

"Nope, I found my warrior," Bri replied putting an arm around Troy's waist looking up at him. "And I couldn't be happier."

"That goes for me too," Troy said giving his wife another peck on the lips.

"Then I've got a chance with you," Rebecca said looking at Nall.

"More than a chance," Nall replied looking back at Rebecca.

"So," a female voice said causing them to look. Jax was standing there looking at Rebecca. "Do you feel better now?"

"Yeah, I do," Rebecca said.

"Good," Jax said then walked over to congratulate Bri and Troy.

Troy felt like everyone on the ship congratulated him, by the number of people who had come by. He was beginning to want some time alone with his new wife. Robert and Ares came walking up to where they were standing.

"Well, congratulations," Ares said.

"Thank you sir," Troy said.

"You know, I have a feeling that your parents would be proud," Ares said

"I know that they would," Troy said taking a look at Bri.

"We've come a long way," Ares said, looking around. There were a few Earthers in the group which only made what had happened to them seem more real. "And there is still a lot more to do."

"I think we can relax for a day or two sir," Troy said.

"I think we can as well," Ares said, turning to Robert.

"Here," Robert said, handing Troy a piece of paper. Troy looked at it for a few moments before Robert explained. "It's traditional for a new wed couple on Earth to go on a honeymoon. They take a few days and are by themselves."

Troy looked at Robert then back at Ares wondering if he was hearing what he thought he was hearing. They were giving him permission to have some time off.

"It was my idea," Ares said. "We all deserve some time off and well with you just having been sealed it seemed a perfect time for you to have time off."

"Thank you sir," Troy said. "We'll enjoy it."

* * *

Troy and Bri stood on the balcony of the hotel room on Earth. They had gone to a place called Hawaii for their honeymoon. They could see the ocean waves as a few of the locals had long slender boards and were riding the waves back to shore. Most did not make it but a few did. The temperature was not too warm as Bri settled into Troy's arms.

"This should be nice," she said to him.

"Yep," Troy said as he wrapped his arms around her. "Nothing but you and me for an Earth week."

They both knew that a new mission would be waiting for them once they got back to the ship. That could wait for now. For the next secton it would be just the two of them.

"Come on, there's a nice bed waiting," Bri said as she turned around to look at Troy.

"Sounds good to me," Troy said as then went inside to begin their own celebration.

Continued in A New Fleet


	19. Chapter 19: A New Fleet

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**A New Fleet**

Troy and Nall looked out from the Argo at what was going on. It had been six Earth months since their arrival at Earth. They were now orbiting Centari One which had rapidly become their main base. Green vegetation could be seen on the planet's surface indicating that the integration of plants to the planet's ecosystems was going along just fine. Water was being brought in from local sources rather than earth.

Above the planet's surface a large space dock was beginning to take shape. So far they had not begun to construct any ships. That would be beginning soon enough though. There was a lot that they still had to do before construction could really take off. Manpower was no longer a problem and with the new food from Earth the spirits of the crew of the Argo had picked up considerably.

Standing there he felt another vision coming. This time he saw the planet again, but smoke was coming from the building on the planet's surface. An explosion could be seen as it ripped though the compound destroying most of it. There were no clear attackers but it chilled Troy.

With a shake of his head he wondered about what he saw. He would have to think about this one.

"What's up," Bri asked, seeing that her husband seemed to be on another planet.

"Nothing, yet," Troy replied, not wanting to worry his wife just yet.

Bri was about to say something else when the door opened. Nall walked into the room making his way over to where they were standing.

"Ah, there's my favorite threesome girl," Nall said, with his rakish grin.

"Still having delusions of grandeur I see," Bri replied.

"Nah, I just know now that you're not a virgin," Nall said. "I thought that now you've might have loosened up a little. Oww!"

"You might want to watch where you walking," Bri replied having slammed her heel down onto Nall's toes. "I see the felbercarp getting deep in here," she said as Nall jumped up and down on one foot.

"I see that I missed something," a voice said from the door. They looked over to see Rebecca walking towards the group.

"Baby, Bri stomped on my toe," Nall said, putting a pout on his face.

"And what did you do to her," Rebecca asked, leveling a glare at Nall.

"I just thought because she was no longer a virgin, she'd want to have a threesome," Nall replied, with a waggle of his eyebrows. "Ow," he said, as Bri stepped on his other foot.

"How did you survive," Rebecca asked, turning to Troy.

"Hey I'm not the one in love with him," Troy said, pointing to Nall. "But being a bit crazy helps."

"I can see that," Rebecca replied with a smile. The more she watched and understood Nall and his friends the less she felt she understood. Troy and Bri were married, yet Nall flirted endlessly with Bri and Troy did not mind. Watching the two of them Rebecca realized that it was more like watching two siblings talk to each other than anything else. Perhaps that was all it was.

Colonel Pratt walked into the room and went straight for Bri and Troy. They were the two pilots on duty for shuttle flights to bring the new crew down to the base. Things were going well enough that he and Ares had spoken about maybe being able to speed up the process.

Seeing the colonel meant that they would be on shuttle duty now. With a bit of a sigh he knew that it meant it was time to get to work.

* * *

"David, this is more than what I was expecting," a male said to another one.

"I know Mike, something about all of this does not make any sense. We're supposed to make regular reports to our supervisors, but that's going to be a bit difficult when we're not even near Earth," David said to the other one.

"I know, but Senator Trillia wants answers to his questions. I don't think he will like the answer though," Mike said.

"No he made it seem that what ever this mission was it was going be somewhere in our solar system, not in another one," David said.

"Well I do know that we still have a mission here, so let's now blow it," Mike said.

"We better get going then, they'll be looking for us soon," David said as they made their way to the hanger of the battlestar.

David thought about what the senator had told him. He had thought that a few others in the government were wasting money in unnecessary projects when they could be in other projects, more specifically his. It was a familiar political game that they were playing. Destroy another senator's project so there was more money for yours because it was yours.

David sighed, he was getting a bit tired of it lately. Perhaps after this one he would retire from the business.

* * *

Commander Ares sat at his desk reading over all the reports that had been handed to him. There were the reports of the Argo itself, the base Centari One, some political things from Earth, and then a new message from the Colonies. He bypassed everything there and went straight to that one.

So far there was little there in the reports that he could tell. The war was still going on and but at the moment it seemed to be at a standstill. Ares had the feeling that it would not last like that for too long.

One of the reports was over the new metal that was under development. There was a breakthrough with it. The stealth properties of the metal were enormous and might give them an advantage over the Cylons that they had desperately needed. It would make the battlestars almost invisible to the basestars until it was too late. That and the new holo technology that was coming into play would help out a lot in the war.

Ares could imagine using the stealth metal, along with the holo images to confuse the Cylons into attacking the wrong ship. It was another advantage that they might have as well.

The door opened and Colonel Pratt walked into the room. He had a paper with him.

"We are almost at the point where we can start development of the new class of cruisers," Pratt told Ares.

"The Tiger class," Ares said. "Yes, if we can get one of those built it would do a lot to gain experience. How is the transport coming?"

"It should be ready in the next month," Pratt said. They had started to use Earth time units to avoid confusion in time with all of the Earthlings.

"Good, Weaver has reported that they should have enough stealth metal to cover the ship. It will be enough to help avoid detection with the technology that Earth has," Ares said.

"So what's going on back home," Pratt asked. He so far had not had the time to look at the reports that had come from home. There was a lot that had gone on while they were gone. The Cylons destroyed another battlestar, bringing the fleet down to six, seven if the Argo was included.

"I'll be glad once the transport is finished. I'm getting tired of transporting the people back and forth," Ares said.

"Right, we could be helping train some of these people who will be manning the ships," Pratt said. "Any idea as to when the government will begin talking about what we're going here."

"I might be a while, but I don't know. According to Rebecca interest in space is picking up, especially kids. That's probably where we'll draw most of our crew from at first," Ares said.

"They do have over 10 billion people on the planet," Pratt said having gone over the population figures.

"The planet can't support that much," Ares said with a shake of his head.

"I know, that's why there is a large push to make Centari One self-sufficient," Pratt said.

"The sooner the better I think. We can help out with their food supply as well if everything works out," Ares said. Their technology for supplying a planet with food was years ahead and would help out. "How are the hydroponic farms coming."

"We're just about done with the first one. They'll start planting crops next month," Pratt said.

"Good, everything is going alone so well that I don't like it," Ares said.

"I know what you mean commander," Pratt replied. "I'll keep you informed about everything that goes on."

Ares watched as Pratt walked out of the room. He wondered what would disrupt the peace that right now surrounded the planet and what they were doing.

* * *

Troy and Bri piloted the shuttle down to the planet's surface. They were taking down some more techs that would help with the construction of the base. A few of them were farmers for the hydroponic farms that were nearing completion. Growing food would lessen the dependence on a stressed Earth.

Bri glanced out of her window to see the Hermes in orbit around the planet. The advanced construction techniques of the Colonies allowed the construction of the Hermes, a small transport. You could barely see it as they were beginning to place the stealth metal on it. The next step for a lot of the designers was to develop scanners that would allow them to identify the ships.

"Centari One this is Argo shuttle one requesting permission to land," Troy said, breaking Bri's thoughts. She looked forwards and realized they headed though the atmosphere.

"Shuttle one you have clearance for landing pad three," the reply came over the intercom.

"Roger Centari One," Troy said. They piloted the shuttle towards a small landing pad with a bright red number '3' painted on it.

After touching down and the shuttle's passengers disembarked, they left the shuttle waiting for anyone headed back to the Argo. They looked around remembering what this looked like before there was anything here.

"You know," Bri said, turning to Troy. "I think it was about right here that you proposed to me."

"You think," Troy said, in a tone that indicated he really did not think so.

"Yeah I do," Bri said, then gave him a quick kiss. "It was one of the best days of my life," she said with a sigh as Troy wrapped his arms around her.

Troy wondered if his dad had seen that this would happen to him. He wished that he could show them his wife, would they have approved of her? He had a feeling that his mom would have liked her, his dad was harder to read.

Turning his attention back to his wife he smiled at her. Things were definitely looking good now. They had found Earth and now were beginning the second part of their mission. It was a big revelation to his beliefs and a great relief as well. A few people on board were not quite as relieved about it but realized that they had a mission to do.

Their mission was to help out the Colonies in their battle against the Cylons by either making Earth prepared to fight or sending reinforcements to the Colonies. Troy was sure that they would be making sure that Earth was ready to fight the Cylons. There was a sense of foreboding in his mind that they would not be able to help the colonies in time. His vision would come true for the fleet.

"You ready to head back on up to the Argo," Troy asked Bri.

"Sure," Bri replied. The two of them walked on over to where the shuttle was and climbed on board. There was no on else on board as no one was heading back to the Argo at the moment.

They blasted off heading back to the Argo to pick up more passengers to bring back down to Centari One.

* * *

Mike glanced around not quite sure what to make of everything that he was seeing. There was something going on here that went even deeper than what the senator had told him. He was told by the greeter that he was heading somewhere far away to help out with a construction project. They had also told him that he might be able to make it back to his home for several months.

At first he had been sure what they had meant by that. Now he fully understood. He had seen some sort of construction platform in orbit around the planet. Now on the ground he could see that construction was actually complete in a lot of areas. Off to another side was dome-shaped structures that he had learned were farms.

There also seemed to be a lot of activity that was going on. Mike was sure that he needed to learn a lot. He walked with the others to a meeting room where they all would be learning even more about what they were doing. Sitting down he glanced around and saw David sitting nearby. A man walked in wearing a uniform that he had seen on board the ship called Argo. He had dark hair and a moustache.

"My name is Lieutenant Nall and I'd like to welcome you all to the new base Centari One," the man said. "Let me start out by telling you a brief background of the ship you came here on and our mission."

Mike sat back and listened in a bit of disbelief at what the man was saying. He saw saying that there were twelve other worlds with humans on and that they had all come from a central planet called Kobal. That and the mission that they were on could affect Earth and its population greatly. The Colonies were at war with a machine race called the Cylons.

Mike thought it was a bit like a Terminator movie. Machines at war against mankind trying to wipe them out. Something just did not make sense to Mike as he looked over to meet eyes with David. He looked like he was thinking the same thing.

"This is a picture of a typical Cylon warrior," Nall said, using the holographic machine to produce an image of a Cylon. Its gleaming metal and bouncing red-eye was something that none of them had ever seen before.

"In ground combat they are slow, but they work better together than any group of highly trained warriors. Their weakness is their movement but they are also a lot stronger than any normal human is. They have a central leader and now their goal is to destroy all of humanity," Nall said. "To prevent this, we were sent here to help arm Earth, and if possible return with help to the Colonies."

A slight murmur went thought the crowd. They were not sure what to make of this development. Everything that they had just heard seemed a bit irregular to all of them. They were going to arm Earth under this group's control to fight a distant enemy.

"I know that many of you think that the war against the Cylons will not affect you, but if the colonies fall then they'll be heading for Earth sooner or later," Nall said. "Your assignments are listed up here," he said, pointing to a list behind him. It would have where each man was staying and where he would be working.

Mike walked up to the paper to see his assignment. His expertise was wielding, and noticed that he would be helping out on the planet's surface. He walked down the hallway to where his quarters were and walked inside. The quarters were quite spacious for the design. He looked around and noticed that he would be sharing a room. The door opened and his roommate walked in.

"Ah, I see they've finally given me a roommate, sorry about the mess here," the man said, walking over and quickly cleaning a space. "I'm Dennis," he said extending his hand.

"Mike," he replied, greeting Dennis.

"The technology is truly amazing," Dennis said. "I'm working on things that are light years ahead of anything on Earth, yet at the same time some things we're ahead of them on."

"Really," Mike said, curious about what they could be ahead of these aliens on.

"Oh yeah, computers for one thing. Did you know that their entire ship runs on a computer processor that is less powerful than a normal handheld," Dennis said. "Their monitors are all monochrome as well."

Mike looked a bit shocked at that. But now that he thought about it he did recall seeing monochrome monitors on the ship.

"It seems that they do most of their operations on the ships manually. I think it's because of who their enemy is," Dennis said.

"Really, why do you think that," Mike asked.

"Well, if your enemy is a computer then why try to give them an advantage over you. A complex computer could be overtaken by another machine," Dennis said. "The designers are already working on making systems more automated yet hard to break into."

"Interesting," Mike replied. He was getting great information about everything. The people here seemed to believe what they were being told. Mike just hoped he could uncover the truth before it was too late.

* * *

Troy sat back on the bed waiting as Bri finished up her nightly ritual before getting into bed. She would make sure that she washed her face, then she would brush her hair, something he thought was a bit strange. Then she would finally be ready to come into bed. She snuggled up next to him as he wrapped his arm around her.

"So, what's wrong," she finally asked after several minutes of silence.

"What makes you think anything is wrong," Troy asked with a frown on his face.

"I can feel it," Bri replied. It was something she had felt all day from her husband. Something was bothering him and she was determined to flesh it out. "Did you have another vision?"

Troy sighed wondering if he would ever be able to keep anything from his wife. She seemed to have the distinct ability to read him very well.

"Yeah, I did," Troy said, wondering how much he should tell her. Perhaps he should tell her everything about what he saw.

"Tell me," she asked hoping that he would share what he saw with her.

"I saw Centari One in flames," Troy said, as he went on to describe what he had seen. He could feel the body next to her go still as he recalled what he had seen.

"The Cylons," she finally asked.

"I don't know," Troy replied. "I don't recall seeing anything that might be them. There were no ships or attackers at all."

"Sabotage," Bri asked, her tone clearly upset about such a thought.

"That might be," Troy replied, as he thought about it.

"Not everyone on Earth might be sympathetic with us," she said.

"I know, perhaps I should tell the commander and have everyone be on the look out for anything suspicious," he said.

"If Centari One is destroyed, the set-back could be devastating," Bri said.

"I'll talk to the commander in the morning," Troy said.

"That would be a good idea," Bri said, as she could feel her husband relaxing more. "Now, let's get some sleep, I'm exhausted."

That sounded like the best idea to Troy at the moment. Bri fell asleep quickly like she always did, half lying on top of him. He wondered why they even had two pillows when she used him for one. With a smile and a plan he waited as sleep overtook him as well.

* * *

Commander Ares looked up from his reports as Captain Troy walked into the office. The look on the man's face told him that this would be more than a simple conversation. He set aside what he was reading and motioned for Troy to have a seat and waited to hear what Troy had to say.

"I wanted to share you a vision I had," Troy said, as he sat down. "It involves Centari One."

Ares sat there an listened to what Troy had to say. He has seen Centari One burn and be destroyed. The one thing that he could not say was how or who destroyed it. Ares' first thought was that the Cylons had done it. Troy was not sure though as he had not seen any Cylon raiders in the vision.

"Interesting," Ares finally said, giving it some more thought.. He also went over what Troy had said Bri's thought on it was. Someone from Earth might be responsible for it. The reason of who and why would become important in all of this. They would have to stop them before they caused any permanent damage to the base.

"I suggest we have everyone here on board that you can trust keep a strong look out as well as those who Robert trusts. They might not talk to us but they may talk to each other," Troy said.

"Very well," Ares said thinking that I was a good idea. "Can you give me any indication about the timing? A new structure, or anything that you might be able to tell me."

Troy thought about that for a moment recalling everything that he had seen. "No, nothing stands out," he finally said.

"Then I guess we'll just have to keep an eye out for something that might come up then and hope we're fast enough to stop it before it happens," Ares said, making a decision. It would have to work for now until they could hopefully uncover something that might tell them what happens.

"I'll let Bri and Nall know what's going on," Troy sai,d knowing that he really would not have to tell Bri as she already knew.

"Good, I've got a few others that I can tell as well," Ares said, thinking of Colonel Pratt and the few Earth leaders that he felt he could trust so far.

Troy left his commander's office and went in search of Nall and Bri. He figured that they would probably be together somewhere with Nall trying something.

Ares reached for his communicator and waited until Pratt answered. He asked the colonel to come see him in his office. Ares wondered how the colonel would react to such news. Part of him was not surprised to hear about something yet he had really hoped that such a thing would not be needed.

* * *

Mike walked around after his first day at work. He could tell the difference between the people from the Colonies and those from Earth. He was still trying to figure it all out. Something about what was going on just did not make any sense to him. The explanation he had been given at the beginning seemed too simple. He felt positive that there was more going on than what they told him.

Mike had watched the others work and the relationships that were forming between the two groups. There was one person that he recognized, that was Rebecca, a former assistant of the now disbanded Space program of the government. He wondered what was going on with that now, and the real reason why she was here.

Mike recalled that she had gotten another job, but no one knew where. He figured he now knew where she had gone. It was something he was sure his boss would be happy to find out about. He would have to talk with David and see what he had learned as well before making their first report. Either way he was sure that this group posed a threat to Earth and this story was just their cover story. The real problem was figuring out how to find out the truth.

Continued in Confrontation


	20. Chapter 20: Confrontation

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Confrontation**

The senator sat at his desk waiting for his two men to come into the room. It had been a long six months since he had heard from them. A few short messages had come to him but they had relayed nothing. All his efforts to track down where the messages had originated from ended in failure. Now their time from where ever they had been was over and they were heading back.

"Sir, your appointments are here," his secretary said over the intercom.

"Great, send them in at once," the senator said, hoping to gain information about what Senator Sam was doing.

Two men walked into the room and took a seat waiting for the senator to say something.

"Well, what did you discover," the senator said. "What is our dear Senator Sam doing with millions of dollars?"

"It's not what you think, that's for sure," Mike said, from where he was sitting. He had learned a lot during the last six months. He and David had worked on several things.

"Well then, tell me what I'm thinking because I have quite an active imagination," the senator said.

"For one, it was not on Earth, that was for sure," David said.

"It's on the moon, that would explain why you were out of contact so much," the senator said.

"Actually sir, that's not where we were either," Mike said. "It's actually a planet that they call Centari One."

"Another planet," the senator said, surprised at what he had just heard. It sounded quite incredible already. "And how did you get there, teleport?"

"No, they had a ship called the Argo at first, but now they have a transport ship called the Hermes which they use to transport people to and from Earth and Centari One," Mike said.

"And what are they doing on Centari One," the senator asked, his tone saying that he liked the information so far.

"They are building a fleet, a war fleet," David said.

The senator's eye brows went up with this news. He did not like this bit of news. "And who is the enemy?"

"It seems that we're helping a group of humans from another planet build a fleet to help them fight an alien race called the Cylons," David said.

"The Cylons, and another planet full of humans, sounds ridiculous to me," the senator said, scoffing what he had just heard.

"It might be, but they are building a warship right now, called the Tiger," Mike said. "I worked on it during my time there."

"That idiot Sam. It's obvious that they are using us to build a fleet of warships to use on us," the senator said. To him it all made perfect sense. "We must destroy that base now before things progress too far."

"I agree, and I have a plan," David said. It was something that he had thought about for a while now. He did not believe anything that he had heard about a race called the Cylons. He thought that they were part of a group that was disguising themselves to look like humans, in order to overtake Earth using ships they had built.

"Good," the senator said. "Let hear it."

* * *

Bri climbed up into her viper and let the crew hand her the helmet. Adjusting it and putting it on she then went through the start-up routine, full fuel tanks, and all three engines good to go. Renee finished relaying the patrol route to her ship's computer. She then had permission to launch when she was ready. With a deep breath, and a slow exhale, she pushed down on the thruster button.

The three massive engines roared to life, accelerating the viper out of the launch tube forcing her back against the seat. It took a few seconds for her to adjust to the speed as her viper existed out of the launch tube. In front of her she could see Troy's viper which had launched before her. She had really thought that after they joined Commander Ares would split them up, but felt relieved that he did not.

Bri felt sure the patrol would not yield anything. The patrols had not found anything for a while. The commander however was not going to take any chanced of anything happening. Ever since Troy had mentioned his vision, Ares stepped up the patrols.

That really did not bother her as it gave the pilots something else to do and not just shuttle people to and from the planet's surface. This time their flight path would bring them in on the path of the returning Hermes. They were going to test the new scanners to see if the scanners could detect the ship. Weaver and his team of both Colonials and Earth personal were working on constantly updating everything.

The scientist had taken to Earth technology with a renew energy and those from Earth seemed to feel the same, from everything to computers to robotics. They were also learning about how to divide up all the computers on the upcoming class of ships so that the Cylons could not infect the entire ship.

"Heads up," Troy said, over the radio about half way into their patrol. "I've got the Hermes on my scanner."

Bri looked down and noticed that the ship did appear on her scanner. It was not very strong but it was there. She was sure that if they did not know the route that the ship was taking then it would be considered a meteor in space. As long as it did not change direction someone would never know. The old scanners would not have picked up the ship at all.

"Let's make the flyby," Bri said as they turned their vipers towards the incoming ship.

"This is patrol one to Hermes, we have you on scanners," Troy said as they made their way to the transport.

"This is Captain Roy of the Hermes, we've had you on our scanner for the past thirty minutes," the captain said.

"Figures," Bri said. "At least we know it works."

"The Hermes had more than enough time to change course or come up with a battle plan before we even saw them on our scanners," Troy said impress with the stealth technology. The good thing was they had a way to detect the ships now and that gave them a leg up on the Cylons.

Bri had to agree with what Troy said. She also knew that the next time they would see the Hermes they would be boarding the ship for some vacation time on Earth. They had received some pay that they could use on Earth and vacation time. Bri had studied some of the places that Earth had to offer. She was amazed at the amount of variety that was on the planet.

Then there was also the problem of what might happen on Centari One. She knew that Troy would want to stay but she was ready for some time alone with him and not on the ship.

"Have you thought about what I said to you before the patrol," she asked.

"About the Earth cruise, yeah, if you want to go then book it," he said.

"Great," Bri said almost jumping up in her seat and a smile on her face. They would have a great time she figured.

They turned their vipers on the last part of the patrol before heading back to the Argo with nothing to report. The captain of the Hermes would give the report to Ares about how the mission went.

* * *

Rebecca waited while Nall went over the instructions for the new people who had come to the planet's surface. He had volunteered to help tell the people why they were there and what the purpose of the station was. She could see the looks on the people's faces as they mostly did not believe him at first. A few did but she had told Nall and his friends that their story would be a bit hard to believe at first for anyone from earth.

Rebecca waited until he was done before heading over to where he was standing. They had a few people returning from their first trip over. Rebecca could spot them easily. They were the ones who were looking and listened a bit more to the story. It was if they were trying to gain more details than they had heard the first time. They had also talked with others from the Colonies that came here aboard the Argo.

Nall watched as the group separated and went their separate ways. This group would begin the training for the new ship. The Argo did not carry enough extra crew to man another ship even if the ship was not another battlestar. The Tiger class destroyer would be a great place to begin many things. The first of which was gaining a new ship which to train the volunteers from Earth.

"Hey beautiful," Nall said as Rebecca came up beside him.

"What are you doing after this," Rebecca asked him.

"Well, I thought that I would try to hook up with a spunky small blonde," Nall said with a smile. "See if she wants to join me somewhere."

"Hmm, sounds dangerous," Rebecca said. "Perhaps you should just ask me instead."

"Well, all right, what are you doing tonight," Nall said.

"A small spunky blonde asked what we were doing for dinner tonight and if we wanted to join them," Rebecca said.

"I take it they said yes," Nall said watching as Rebecca nodded her head. "Good," he said as a smile came to his face again.

"Oh boy," Rebecca exclaimed as she shook her head. "I think Troy's right, you do like it."

Troy just grinned and a wicked thought came to Rebecca's mind. She would have to talk with Bri about it but it would definitely be worth seeing.

* * *

Bri and Troy walked over to where Nall and Rebecca were sitting waiting for them. The main cafeteria had grown on Centari One during the last couple of months. Troy wondered how much longer Nall and Rebecca would see each other before joining. Everyone could see how much they cared for each other. It was actually something that had helped out quite a bit early on with some of the newer recruits.

"Hey, beautiful," Nall said as the pair joined them.

"You'll make Rebecca jealous if you keep that up," Bri said.

"Who said I was talking to you," Nall said turning to Troy. "So can I offer you a chair?"

"Keep that up and you'll gain some people's attention all right," Bri said with a shake of her head over to another group.

"Right," Nall said then turned back to Bri and offered her the chair again.

"Why thank you," Bri said then with a slight wink in Rebecca's direction spun and planted a firm kiss on Nall. She then sat down with such an innocent face that Troy started laughing at his wife.

Nall stood frozen for several seconds. It was not what he was expecting from Bri that was for sure. Slowly the sound of laughter came to his ears and he could tell that they were all laughing at him. It was one of the few times that he had been stunned like that. Quickly he sat down and regained his composure.

"If that was all it took to get you to kiss me I would have done it sooner," he finally managed to get out.

"Maybe, but you couldn't handle me," Bri said in a sexy voice making Troy almost spit out the drink he had taken. Nall was left speechless again. Usually he was the one talking like that not Bri.

"All right, who are you and what have you done to Bri," he finally said looking right at Bri.

"I don't know what you mean," Bri said sitting down next to Troy.

"No I'm wrong, you are Bri," Nall said. "You just changed you tactic against me that's all. I don't think there is a spot on my body that you haven't hit me, well actually there is."

"I can rectify that if you want," Bri said, with a grin.

"No, that's perfectly fine," Nall said rather hastily then sat down.

The four of them continued to talk for though out the meal. Troy then realized that Rebecca's attention was focused to a group across the room. He gave a quick glance around to see if he could see anything. There was a group of four men sitting across the way.

"What's up," Troy finally said gaining Rebecca's attention.

"Huh, oh," Rebecca said. "It's probably nothing," she said trying to pass it off.

"No, what is it," Nall said wondering what was going on.

"Well, its just that those men, for some reason I just don't trust them. I've seen them around where they probably should not be," Rebecca said.

"Interesting," Troy said as he fell silent thinking about that. He went over everyone that he had strange feeling about or seemed to act a bit odd compared to others. There were several people in the group that Troy did not trust much either.

"Come on, I came here to relax, not be sucked into another adventure," Nall said. He knew that somehow he was going to be sucked into another mission or mystery. He was wondering it it was Bri or Troy that seemed to find the trouble.

"Maybe you just attract it," Bri said.

"No, I never had an exciting adventure until I met you and you convinced me to volunteer for this mission," Nall said.

"Yeah, but let's face it, you're enjoying it," Bri said daring Nall to dispute that fact. "Ha, I'm right."

"All right, you're right okay," Nall said. "Beside I guess if I hadn't come I wouldn't have met you," he said looking right at Rebecca.

"And that's a good thing," Rebecca said before turning to Bri. "So have you made your reservations for the cruise?"

"Yep, I did it on-line before coming here to meet with you," Bri said. "Seven days of nothing but relaxing and my partner."

"Sounds like fun," Nall replied. He did have to admit Bri was happy with Troy and that made him happy as well. "I will admit it won't be the same without you here."

"Yeah, who else would smack him around for free," Rebecca said.

"You two sound like I like it or something," Nall said.

"You do," Troy said getting into the act as well.

"Gee thanks," Nall said.

"Aww, my poor baby," Rebecca said leaning over to give him a kiss. "Feel better," she asked.

"Let me think about it," he replied then saw Bri's eyes. "Yes I do."

"Darn," Bri muttered earning a look from Troy. He never quite knew what she was going to do to Nall each time. She somehow managed to continue to surprise him.

The conversation turned to what was going on as they ate their meal. Troy however seemed to keep an eye on the men. There was something that he was feeling coming from the. It was almost as if trouble was brewing and they were to be the cause. He made a mental note to talk with Commander Ares about them.

* * *

Mike sat at the table with the others listening to the conversations going on around them. He was not sure that what they were doing was the right thing. There was still a lot to learn about this group. Blowing everything up just did not seem like an acceptable answer to him. He could see the technology that the aliens were using that could easily help out the overpopulation on Earth. The others did not see this, only that there might be a threat to Earth.

"What's your schedule like Mike," David said turning to the man.

"I'm off tomorrow, but then I have a normal work shift for the next four days," Mike replied to the man.

"Good, I'll get with you then so we can enable our plan," David said.

"Good, the sooner the better," another man said.

"All right," Mike said getting up. "It was a long day, I'm going to head back to my quarters and get some rest."

The group watched him go as they continued to plan what they were going to do over the next couple of days.

* * *

Ares sat at his desk wondering what the next thing that would happen could be. He had received reports from the Colonies. It seemed that the war against the Cylons was still at a stalemate. He could only wonder at how long that would last. He was sure that something would happen sooner or later to remove the stalemate that had occurred. Then there was the news that Troy had told him. Something would happen to the base on the planet's surface.

Ares was not blind to not recognize that something like this might happen. He had wanted everyone screened that was coming in to the base at first. Sam had told him that such a thing was not considered 'PC' and could cause problems. When Ares asked him what 'PC' was he was told that it stood for 'political correct'. That was so that something would not offend anyone regardless of race or religion on Earth.

Ares remembered laughing at such a concept but it seemed like it had a good hold over Earth. He had reluctantly allowed loose restrictions on the people coming in. That meant that he had to instruct his people to be more on guard than normal. He sighed to himself as he realized things had been way too quiet recently. Whenever something like this occurred it usually meant that something bad was about to happen.

Ares could only hope that they reacted in time to stop anything before it became too bad.

* * *

David set up the last part that was needed for their plan. So far he was sure that no one had discovered what they were about to do. His one concern was now for a certain member of his own team. The group was sure that Mike was a liability to the mission. David was sure that these aliens needed to be taught a lesson for sure. He did not buy into the story that these aliens told. He was sure that their real purpose was to conquer Earth for their own reasons.

David watched as some members of their group were gathering together. They had made a few friends on the Hermes who would allow them to get on board. A few would remain behind to find out what type of damage was caused and if they were totally taken out of commission. That was the goal that they had to put the alien's base out of working order.

"Everything set," David asked one of the men.

"We're ready to go," the man replied to David.

"Good," David said. "Let's get moving then."

The group began to break up again and head to the area that they were to wait until it was time.

* * *

Bri and Troy walked along the corridor heading towards a shuttle that would take them towards Hermes. The ship was due to leave Centari One in four Earth hours. The ship did coordinate with the traffic going to and from the moon and certain controllers that were aware of them. This way the ship would not cause any alarm when it appeared to unload and load people and cargo.

"I'm looking forward to this," Bri said as she walked along side Troy. She had managed to get them booked on the cruise even though it was a bit of a last-minute deal. There was an arranged transport to and from the space port in Los Angeles.

"So am I," Troy said. "It's good to get away from everything for a while. But I just wish I knew more about why I feel a bit uneasy about everything."

"Does it have to do with your vision," Bri asked him as she turned to look at him.

"I don't know," Troy replied honestly. "It might have to do with it, not sure."

"I'm sure that you'll figure it out," Bri said with confidence.

They wound up at the shuttle hanger where a few shuttles were waiting to take people up to the Hermes. They recognized several pilots who were hanging around waiting until it was their turn to pilot the shuttle. Several people were also new and in training. Bri spotted Jax standing over with a couple of others from the Argo.

"I'm going to go on over and say hi to Jax over there," Bri said to Troy who just nodded his head. He watched as Bri walked on over to where Jax was along with Gunther.

Jax saw Bri heading her way and waved to her. Jax had not seen Bri in a couple of days and wondered what was going on. She knew that Bri and Troy were about to go on a vacation. The last she had heard was the pair was thinking about going on a cruise on Earth. She wondered if they had made plans and if so when they would be leaving.

"Hey," Jax said when Bri got close enough. "When's your vacation?'

"We're starting it today," Bri said with some excitement in her voice.

"Today," Jax said then. "I thought that it was going to be a few more days before you two were leaving. Nall isn't going to know what to do then."

"He'll survive, he has Rebecca to watch out for him," Bri said.

"Perhaps, but I know that he'll still miss you," Jax said.

"So what are you two doing for your vacation," Gunther said having been quiet during the conversation.

"We're taking an Earth cruise," Bri replied.

"Hmm, wonder if that will be anything like on Gemini," Gunther said. "If so that was beautiful. You'll have to be sure to bring back pictures of everything."

"Oh, that reminds me I need my camera," Bri said. She had bought an Earth camera not too long ago and had received a message that it had arrived in the mail room. "I forgot to pick it up earlier this morning." She quickly walked over to where Troy was standing and told him that she was going to pick something up and suggested that he go on ahead up to Hermes and that she would meet him up there.

"What did you forget," Troy asked.

"That's for me to know," Bri said with a smile. "I'll meet you on board. Be sure to get a good seat."

"All right, I will," Troy said as the call to board the shuttle was announced.

With a quick kiss Bri was off walking away to head to the mail room to pick up her package. Troy walked on over to the shuttle along with a few others.

* * *

Mike walked along the corridor passing people that he recognized and had slowly begun to consider friends. He really wondered if what they were doing was the right thing. He also had the reservations about what this 'alien' group was doing however he also had become friends with a few of them. He had met a few of them, such as a man named Gunther. The man seemed to talk human and act human to Mike.

Make turned the corner heading to where he was to meet up with some others of the group. Looking around he did not see anyone that he recognized. A blonde haired woman came walking by. He had seen her before a few other times. Gunther had mentioned that she was another pilot, Gabrielle and had recently married a pilot in her squadron.

Make began to get a strange feeling about everything. He knew that the others thought that he was not committed to their cause. That was true he thought that they needed more information about their group. Just as he was thinking that everything seemed to suddenly turn into his worst nightmare.

* * *

The shuttle had landed on Hermes allowing the passengers to get out of the shuttle. Troy had watched a few of the men. The pilot had been someone new from Earth. The pilot program was taking off and new recruits were being trained everyday. They would need new people to man the new ships that were to be built. He knew that the Tiger was rapidly approaching completion and would soon be ready for a crew.

Troy walked on over to where he was sure that Bri would want to sit. The trip would take a few hours and the ship had a nice large passenger area to go with its large cargo capacity. At first it had been used for food, but now they base was almost self sufficient, except for meat. But they were also able to send back raw materials to Earth to sell making the operation more cost effective as he had heard some people say.

There was a large window where they could look out and see the space station where the Tiger was being built. There was another spacedock under construction nearby which would begin the construction of the first new battlestar. A new destroyer class would be build where the Tiger was once it had been completed. The details of that ship looked impressive to Troy.

He was also able to see the base on the planet's surface. It stood out in contrast to the rest of the planet's surface. It was the only place where green could be seen. That and there were stark white buildings dotting the area. It was then that he saw something that made his heart stop. Orange was erupting from the buildings. He knew what it was he had seen it in his vision. Centari One had been attacked. He could only hope that Bri was all right.

Continued in Damage


	21. Chapter 21: Damage

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Damage**

Mike glanced around as smoke began to cloud his vision. He was a bit pissed about the fact that his so called friends had gone though with their plans without him. It made him really wonder who the real enemies were in this. He was beginning to believe what the aliens had said more than his own people. At least they had so far been honest from what he could tell.

Mike got up and felt a liquid begin to run down his forehead. He reached up and wiped it away. He watched as his hand came away from his face stained red. It did not appear to be too dangerous at the moment and he felt no other pain at the moment. Glancing around he noticed people lying all around with debris littering the floor.

A groan from one of the people made him turn to see who was still alive. It was the blonde that he had seen not that long before the blast. He quickly noticed where she was lying. He could tell that she was hurt and probably hurt badly. He noticed that she looked like she was human. She was bleeding and everything appeared to look like she was human.

Mike made a quick decision. It was one that when he started on this mission he was not sure he would be capable of. Now he bent down and checked out the smaller woman in front of him. She was breathing which was always a good sign. He looked her over and noticed that she appeared to have a broken leg by the way it was twisted. She also had several cuts all over. Gently Mike picked up the woman and began to make his way towards the infirmary.

"Hey Mike," he heard a voice say as he began to walk away. He turned to see someone from his group standing there.

"We were wrong Charlie," Mike said to the man.

"Nonsense," Charlie replied. "They are just clones nothing else. And they are programmed to gain our trust then stab us in the back."

"What if the one who is stabbing us in the back is our own people and they are telling us the truth, then what Charlie," Mike asked him. "If they are telling us the truth then we have no defense against these Cylons."

"I always knew that you were weak," Charlie said pulling a weapon out from behind his back. "I guess it's a good thing we didn't keep you informed about what was going on."

Mike stood there a bit stunned by what he had just heard. Anger rushed though his system at the thought of what had just happened. He had been betrayed by those who he thought he was working for.

"So, you are part of a group of backstabbers," Mike said.

"No you are," Charlie said.

"But you're the one who is about to kill me not the other way around. In my eyes you're the backstabber with no honor at all," Mike said.

"And I'll be glad to know that I helped stop a group that was going to invade Earth," Charlie said.

"No, you were going to help the Cylons," another voice said from nearby. The two men turned to see a man standing there with a moustache holding a weapon on them. "Now I really don't want to kill you but if you don't drop that gun I might be forced to."

Charlie thought about it for a few seconds before making up his mind. He raised his weapon watching as Mike flinched at the thought as two shots rang out in the hallway. One was a gun shot the other was a blaster shot. Mike felt a searing pain in his arm and realized that he had been shot. He opened his eyes and watched as Charlie slowly dropped face first to the ground then the Colonial warrior was next to him.

"You all right," the man said. "We need to get her to the infirmary now."

Mike allowed the man to take the woman from him allowing him to look at the wound. His shirt was ripped where the bullet had gone though but while there was pain he was still able to use his arm. Lifting the shirt sleeve a bit he was relieved to see that it had just scratched him. Somehow he had been spared his life and he thanked any higher life form out there for the small miracle.

"Bri," the man said trying to revive the small woman. "Come on Bri wake up, its me Nall."

A few other people came into the room having been alerted by the sound of gunfire. No one was sure what they would find. Many of the Colonials hoped that the would not find a Cylon but would not be surprised if it was. Instead they found Nall along with another man and one lying apparently dead on the ground.

"Captain Nall, what happened," Gunther asked as he approached the group.

"I'm not sure Gunther. I think he knows, but he needs some stitches first," Nall said. "Come on, I think Bri needs medical care quickly."

* * *

Troy had a bad feeling when he noticed what had happened to the base on Centari One. It was just like his vision. Buildings were exploding causing massive damage to the base. He quickly made his way out of the room and down the hallway but came to a stop when he heard voices coming his way.

"Come on, we don't have much time," once voice said.

"We should have control of the bridge in a couple of minutes," another voice said.

"We'll get out of here the moment Charlie and Ajung get on board," the first voice said. "By then we should know if our mission was a success."

Troy ducked into one of the closets as the group of men walked past. Troy's first thought had been on Bri but now had something else to worry about. He was confident that if Nall survived that he would be helping Bri or the other way around. If the position was reversed and one of them were on board he would want them to stop this group.

Troy glanced around looking for something that he might be able to use as a weapon. He was wearing civilian clothing in anticipation of the upcoming vacation. He wondered how many people he would be facing as well or if this group would kill when confronted. He finally risked a glance out into the corridor which was empty at the moment. He was glad about that.

Troy carefully walked down the corridor taking time to look around corners to make sure that no one was waiting to attack him. Not seeing anyone he continued on his way to the bridge. He was sure that was where the group would need to go to take over the ship. He made his way carefully over to corridor which led to the bridge. He did not see anyone in the corridor and decided to head in that direction.

Troy stopped just at the entrance tot he bridge where he could hear what was going on. The captain was arguing with someone else about something. Troy could not yet make out the words but the tone said a lot. He was able to hear more as he got closer.

"I'm telling you this is a mistake," Troy heard the captain say.

"And I'm telling you to prepare to leave the planet once the last shuttle boards us," a different voice said.

"What if you're wrong? Did you ever think about that," the captain said again.

"We're not wrong, it's you who's been brainwashed into thinking that these 'aliens' are telling us the truth. If you continue to believe that we'll all be dead because of them," the unknown person said again.

"I find it ironic," the captain said finally in a calm voice.

"What do you find ironic old man," the voice said.

"You're part of that peaceful group right," the captain said. "Of course you are. The ship that's being built is for war. I'm sure that you're also working for Senator Kensey that pompous windbag. He thinks that everything can be solved politically by talking."

"And he's right. If these Cylons exist then we'll talk with them and let them know that we are not a threat," the man said. "There will be no need to arm ourselves."

"Then that is where you are fooling yourself," Troy said stepping out onto the bridge.

* * *

Pratt immediately called for Commander Ares to meet him up on the bridge. The Argo had lost communications with Centari One which caused quite a bit of concern for everyone. This was especially true when the reports from the construction yard started to come in. Pratt knew that they were on a bit higher alert in case someone tried something. The one problem was no one had really expected something to happen.

"What's wrong," Ares said walking onto the bridge along with Robert.

"Something has happened on Centari One," Pratt said. "We lost contact with the base just a few microns ago."

"Can you give me a visual," Ares asked quickly.

"We're just coming around. But the construction yard is reporting that explosions were observed in the base," Pratt said.

"The base was attacked, by whom," Ares asked wishing that he had all the answers already.

"Its unknown at the moment," Pratt said not having much except what he had heard about the base already.

"Any word from the Hermes," Ares said. He needed to know what had been damaged and what had not been. Did whoever did this attack the Hermes as well. "Also tell the construction yard to go to red alert."

"Yes commander," Pratt said relaying the orders to the construction yard. Renee meanwhile was trying to raise the Hermes.

"Commander, I cannot raise the Hermes," Renee said after a few moments of trying.

"Do we have them on our scanners," Ares said turning to the scanners.

"The stealth metal makes it hard to identify," Renee said as a thought struck Ares.

"Go to red alert. I want all non-essential personal to return to their rooms," Ares said waiting until the bridge was bathed in a red light. The siren went off indicating battle stations to the entire crew.

"Is that wise," Robert finally said.

"I don't know," Ares said. "But if whoever did this to Centari One they might be able to attack this battlestar. That is something I will not take a chance on."

Robert understood all to well. If the Hermes was no longer replying then what was to stop them from attacking the Argo. Robert hoped that it was an accident but the longer he waited the more he felt that it was an attack. That meant that someone who they had trusted had betrayed them.

Ares had to wait until Centari One came into view. It was only then that he could get a good idea of how bad the damage was. Seeing the base he could make out the damage even from this distance. Smoke appeared from the base making a detailed analysis almost impossible.

"Have a shuttle dispatched at once to see what help we can render and keep trying to contact the Hermes," Ares said.

sssss

"Well looky here, we have one of those aliens with us," one of the men said as he turned to where Troy was standing near the doorway. "We know all about your real reason why your here."

"Really, why don't you tell me then," Troy said evenly. He still did not have a weapon but perhaps he could use his brain this time.

"Your kind are going to conquer our world. Everyone who can see the truth can see that," the man said.

"All right, if that was the case then why would I do such a thing," Troy said. "My people are really at war with a group called the Cylons. Why would we start another war against you?"

"Because you need slaves for your war machine," the man said. "It makes perfect sense. You take a less technological world and conquer it using the material and inhabitants of that world to do your bidding."

"Sounds like to me that you've been reading too many stories," Troy said. "We're going to try and conquer a world where their computers are more advanced than ours and you could have a highly developed civilization yet you don't. If we tried to conquer you it would be more of a pain than any advantage we would gain out of this."

"You're just saying that. Everyone knows that if you are a space faring race then your technical advances will be very highly evolved," the man said.

"Unless you are fighting a race of machines, then you make things simple so they cannot take the computers over," Troy replied. "There are advantages and disadvantages to everything. We're not here to take over Earth but to help defend it against an enemy that doesn't care. How will you protect yourself against an enemy that just wants you to die?"

"Hummmph, it's doubtful that they will ever come here," the man said. "We must do what we can to protect ourselves from a real threat, you."

"Tell me, what have I done to threaten you. How am I trying to take over Earth," Troy said.

"You've visited us for centuries now. We know we have the recorded history that tells us so. All the abductions that you 'grays' have done studying us and making clones of us," the man said.

"The 'gray'? I have no idea about who you are talking about," Troy said.

"You know, short grey skinned aliens," the man said still not backing down.

"Doesn't sound familiar to me," Troy replied.

"Now you're just playing stupid," the man said. We know that you're real intent is to take over the world in name of the 'grays' or whatever it is you call them."

"I'm telling you the truth, I've never heard of them before," Troy said just before suddenly blacking out.

The men looked at each other for a few seconds trying to determine what was going on. The Colonial in front of him appeared to be just fine but now they were not sure. Perhaps they were using gas to knock them all out.

"Its the 'grays' I tell you," the man said.

"Tony, will you shut up about the grays," another man said.

"But," Tony said. "All the evidence points to it Ryan."

"I don't care about you and this 'grey' conspiracy. I just want to make sure that this group, whoever they are, do not invade Earth," Ryan said.

"Ryan, what should we do about him," another man said pointing to Troy.

"Ya know that you're making a mistake don't you," the captain said speaking up for the first time. "And even if they are clones, killing them isn't the way to go."

"He's right," Ryan said. "We'll have to think about this for a few moments."

* * *

Mike walked along behind the Colonial who was in front of him on their way to the medical lab. There was a lot of commotion still going on. He wondered again if they had done the right thing. His guts were telling him that it was the wrong thing to do. He looked up when a couple of other people came walking up.

"Nall, any idea what happened," Jax said making her way to where Nall was carrying an unconscious Bri in his arms.

"Not yet, did the medical bay survive," Nall asked.

"Yeah, I just came from there," Jax replied. "I took Rebecca there."

"Is she all right," Nall said quickly.

"Yeah, I think she broke her arm though," Jax replied. "I, ah, kinda fell on her when the explosions went off."

"But she's all right," Nall said.

"Yes, she will recover just fine," Jax said answering Nall's question. "Any idea as to what happened?"

"I know what happened," Mike said speaking up for the first time. "A group sabotaged you."

"Sabotaged us, why," Jax said not sure why someone would do such a thing.

"There is a group who think that you are here to invade the Earth and that you are using us to build the very ships with which to conquer Earth," Mike said watching the expressions of the people that were with him. He had his answer by the shocked looked that they gave him.

"I think that's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard," Jax replied.

"Perhaps for you, but we have no idea who you are except for your word," Mike said.

"Let me ask you then, why would we go though the trouble to look like you and have you build the ships that we would use against you," Nall asked not sure he really understood the thinking.

"That's what we were also to find out, but, well, the more I learned the more I didn't think that you were here for what we believed," Mike said.

"We really are what we say we are," Jax said. "We don't want to take over Earth, we're here to help protect you from an enemy that won't care if you're peaceful or not."

"I guess I need to think about that then," Mike said as they reached the medical bay.

* * *

The captain of the Hermes noticed that the men who were going to take over his ship were now looking at Troy a bit strangely. With a quick glance at his crew on the bridge he silently communicated his orders. They gave a brief nod that they understood what he was saying.

"Now," he shouted as the bridge crew jumped up to attack the men who were going to take over the ship.

The captain tackled Ryan sending the man's weapon from his grip. Ryan was caught off guard by the older captain and mentally cursed himself for allowing him self to become distracted. Now however he found out that even though the captain was older he was in excellent physical shape.

The captain did not allow Ryan any chance to recover. He followed up his tackle with a quick punch which left Ryan seeing stars. Leaving the stunned man the captain quickly grabbed Ryan's weapon and pointed it at him. Ryan glanced up to see the barrel of his own weapon pointed at him. It was over for now and he allowed himself to be dragged up. His face hurt where the captain had hit him and anger coursed though him. He did not give into the anger at the moment. He would get another chance to as this battle might be over but the war had just started.

The captain noticed that Troy was coming to and a crew member went over to help him up. Troy glanced around wondering what had happened. The bridge crew now had the advantage and was holding the attackers prisoner.

"Contact the Argo and let them know that everything is all right here," the captain said.

"I also need a shuttle to go over to the Argo," Troy said. He was still trying to make sense over everything that he had just recently seen. There was also the worry over Bri as she was still down on Centari One.

"Sure, take any shuttle, I'll clear you," the captain said.

"Thanks," Troy said heading towards the hanger.

* * *

"Commander, the Hermes is making contact with us," Renee said.

"Good, put it up here," Ares said quickly making his way to his command chair. The captain of the Hermes appeared on the screen. "Captain, what is your situation?"

"We had a slight problem with a few passengers trying to take over the ship but its been settled now," the captain said.

"Good to hear," Ares said.

"Captain Troy is headed on over the Argo to talk to you. I think something happened to him that he is not telling me though," the captain said.

"Really," Ares said puzzling over this a bit. "What happened?"

"We were standing off with the attackers when he suddenly collapsed. The distraction allowed my crew to subdue the attackers but I've never seen anything like it," the captain said. He was a bit worried about the man but did not interfere without knowing more of what was going on.

"I'll find out what was going on," Ares said. He was not sure that what he had just heard was good news. He also wondered if Troy's collapse had to do with a vision or not. He had the feeling that he would find out sooner or later once Troy arrived on the Argo.

"We're starting to get reports from Centari One commander," Renee said to Ares knowing that he would want to know this.

"Good, put it up here," Ares said.

"Commander," the base commander said.

"Ralph, what happened," Ares asked.

"Reports are still sketchy but we think at least three explosions occurred. All were in key locations to put the base out of action. The only thing that saved us was the fact that around the generators the metal there was of a stronger grade metal," Ralph said.

"So it was sabotage then," Ares said.

"It's beginning to look like it. The question now become why," Ralph said asking the question that was coming to every ones' mind.

"That I don't know yet, but we do have some prisoner who planned the attack. We might be able to gain some information from them," Ares said. "What about causalities?"

"We're still gathering information about that. We might not have full figures for at least a day or two commander," Ralph relied.

"It's all right, just do your best down there and stay safe," Ares said. "I'll see what I can find out up here."

"Understood commander, Centari One out," Ralph said as the communication ended.

Ares did not have to wait much longer until he heard Renee give landing instructions to Troy. There was something that was bothering Troy enough to come to the Argo and tell him. The fact that the captain had passed out at an important time also was something that concerned Ares. He would have to make sure that Troy underwent a physical to make sure he was all right still.

Ares told the Renee that he would be waiting in his office for Troy. She relayed the message back to the shuttle as Ares walked off the bridge and towards his office. He was not sure what Troy wanted to talk about but he was sure that whatever it was it would be important.

* * *

Nall walked over to where Rebecca was standing in the medical lab. He had turned Bri over to the base's doctors and allowed them to work on her. Rebecca did not look that bad for having just had a broken arm.

"How are you feeling," he asked her motioning towards her arm.

"It's amazing," Rebecca said flexing her arm. "I've never had a broken bone fixed so easily," she said to him.

"Well, we have to improve our medical technology during the war against the Cylons," Nall replied.

"I saw you bringing in Bri, how is she," Rebecca asked. The two of them might not have gotten along in the beginning but they had sense become friends.

"She alive, that's the good thing, but I won't know more until the doctors finish looking at her," he said to Rebecca.

"I'm sure that she will survive," Rebecca said. "She's strong enough to survive this and you know it," she said reinforcing what he was thinking. She knew that Bri was an important part of Nall's live, like a younger sister that he never had.

"I know, its just," Nall said his voice trailing off.

"I know, she's family," Rebecca said.

"Yeah," Nall said seeing the doctor finish up with Bri. He walked over to where he was about to leave. "How is she doc?"

"Well," the doctor said looking up at Nall. "She's hit her head pretty hard and fractured her leg and arm. Internally everything looks fine. Her arm and leg took the brunt of the force. The bones will be set and healed, the head wound is the most obvious concern now, but I don't expect her to get any worse. She'll probably wake up with a terrific headache but it probably a good thing that she was unconscious."

"See, she'll be fine and giving you a hard time in no time," Rebecca said wrapping her arm around Nall.

"Thanks doc," Nall said as the doctor mentioned it was not problem and moved on to his next patient. "I need to tell Troy what happened, he's probably worried."

"I'll go contact the Hermes, you stay here," Rebecca said with a bit of authority in her voice. She knew that Nall would be stubborn about this. He would want to stay here yet do everything else. She had decided that if she could she would do something to help him out. "They are my friends as well Nall."

"All right," Nall said.

Rebecca turned leaving the medical lab in search of a working communications link to either the Argo or the Hermes.

End of Damage

Continued in Healing


	22. Chapter 22: Healing

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Healing**

Ares sat behind his desk waiting for Tory to knock on his door. He had heard that the shuttle had landed. There were a lot of questions going on in his mind that only Troy would be able to answer. They were still waiting on a report from Centari One on the casualties that had occurred on the planet's surface. Ares was certain that there would be casualties from the explosions. The base commander thought it was sabotage which also brought new questions that did not have any immediate answers.

The door chimed indicating that Troy was waiting outside his door. Ares gave permission and a second later Troy walked though the door. Troy sat down while the commander looked the younger man over. Troy looked like he was all right, but Ares would still insist on Troy visiting the medical lab before leaving just to make sure.

"Troy, come in," Ares said.

"Have you heard anything from Centari One," Troy asked, wondering if Bri was all right.

"We received a communications not that long ago. We don't expect a casualty report until tomorrow," Ares said.

Troy nodded his head wondering if he would be able to go that long without knowing if Bri was al right or not.

"Troy, what happened? I talked a bit with the captain of the Hermes and he mentioned that you collapsed," Ares said to Troy.

"That's what I want to talk to you about commander," Troy said.

"I assume that this has to do with what happened on board the Hermes," Ares asked, getting right to the point.

"I'm not sure if it has to do with what happened or not," Troy replied. He was still trying to make sense of everything that he had seen. There was a lot that did not make sense or even seem to work together. He was trying to figure out if it had to do with the Cylons or not.

"Perhaps if you start at the beginning," Ares said, wanting to get the entire story.

"I was heading to the hanger to get back down to Centari One, Bri is down there," Troy said, as Ares nodded his head. He could feel for Troy, as he did not know what happened to Bri. "But on my way I overheard a group talking about taking over the ship. When I got the bridge the group was standing off with the captain and the bridge crew. I walked out to help the captain with the group. Two of them started arguing amongst themselves and then I think a vision came to me, a powerful one."

Ares had already figured that the vision had been a powerful one to knock Troy out. Now the question of what Troy had seen.

"What did you see," Ares asked. "Was it good or bad?"

"That's part of the problem, I'm not sure that we will be able to discover who the bad side is," Troy said.

"I don't follow," Ares said, trying to follow what Troy was saying.

"Neither do I," Troy said. "It's not like the war against the Cylons, this time I saw multiple sides."

"That doesn't sound good," Ares said quietly, as he thought about such a war. Would that effect what they were trying to do or help it? He could only assume that time would tell. "What else can you tell me?"

"One part of the vision is a large room, or chamber, I don't really know but its full of tubes that are full of humanoid shaped beings," Troy said.

"Interesting," Ares said.

"Yes, another is of you sitting with a group of humans and some alien race. An aide gives you a crystal and you plug it into a computer," Troy said.

"And," Ares asked.

"That was it, you plug it into a computer," Troy said. "There are also arguments between people, Senator Sam, Robert and a few other people who I've never seen before. Then there is also a large battle that occurs. I see several ships, some I recognize some I don't."

"Is the Argo there," Ares asked, wondering if they would be part of whatever it was that was going to happen.

"Yes but I don't know who we are fighting or why," Troy said. "There are also several visions of humans talking with these aliens for some reason."

"Do you know if it's before or after the battle," Ares asked.

"That's just it, I don't even know if these aliens are the enemy that we're fighting," Troy said. "I just see them talking with humans but no time line or anything like that."

"We'll have to keep our guard up then," Ares said. "Thanks."

* * *

Rebecca finally found a working console which had communication access. She activated the line. She called the Hermes to see if she could get in touch with Troy and let him know what was going on.

"Lieutenant Greere of the Hermes how can I help you," a woman said, appearing on the screen.

"I need to get in touch with a Captain Troy of the Argo. He's on the Hermes," Rebecca said.

"Can I ask who is calling please," Greere replied.

"Rebecca, a friend of his," Rebecca replied.

"Just a moment," Grrere said, as the screen went to a holding pattern while she went to see if she would find Troy. The screen came back to life a moment later. "I'm sorry but Captain Troy is no longer on the Hermes, he shuttled over to the Argo about twenty minutes ago."

"Oh, thanks," Rebecca said, a bit disappointed and hung up. She then tried to contact the Argo. It took a few tries but she finally got in touch with Renee on the bridge of the Argo.

"Battlestar Argo," Renee said.

"I'm looking for Captain Troy," Rebecca said.

"Who's calling," Renee asked. It was a question that Rebecca should have known was coming by the previous call to the Hermes.

"Rebecca, I have some information for him," Rebecca replied.

"Just a moment," Renee said.

* * *

Ares was about to say something else when Renee's voice interrupted him.

"Commander Ares, Rebecca is on the communications for Captain Troy," Renee said.

"He'll be right there," Ares answered. Suddenly Troy felt nervous about the fact that Rebecca was calling him and not Bri. The two of them quickly made their way to the bridge where Ares ordered the communication up to his station.

"Rebecca, where's Bri" Troy said as her face appeared on the screen.

"She'll be fine. A couple of broken bones and is currently knocked out but the doctor says she should make a full recovery," Rebecca said. "Apparently she was closer to the center of one of the blasts than either Nall or I."

"Any idea how many casualties?" Ares asked, hoping the number was not too high.

"I don't know Commander Ares," Rebecca said. "There were several explosions that all seemed to go off at once. I'm sure that there were some killed, but I don't have any idea how many."

"It's all right, I was just hoping that you might have a bit more information than the commander of the base," Ares said.

"Nope, sorry," Rebecca said. "I was mostly calling to let Troy know about Bri."

"I appreciate it Rebecca, how is Nall," Troy asked her.

"He seemed one of the few who survived without a scratch," Rebecca said.

"He does seem to have that ability, maybe he gets enough bumps and bruises from Bri to balance it out," Troy said.

"Probably," Rebecca said.

"If Bri awakens tell her I'll be down there as soon as I can," Troy said.

"I will," Rebecca said. "I should be going then."

The screen went blank as Rebecca turned and made her way back tot he medical lab. People were still running around trying to minimize the fire damage and anything else that might occur. She noticed that more people had since been brought in tot he med lab and that they were running out of room. The doctor was working as fast as he could but there were just too many injured people for him to take care of quickly.

Nall was still sitting near Bri who it appeared had not awakened yet. Rebecca quickly made her way over to where he was.

"Any change," Rebecca asked.

"Nothing yet," Nall said. "The doctor said that she would probably wake up in the next little while."

"And I can assume that you will be here," Rebecca said.

"I feel like I need to be," Nall said. "Did you get in touch with Troy?"

"Yeah, he was on the Argo," Rebecca said.

"The Argo, thought they were headed to Earth," Nall said, not sure he understood what was going on with that.

"I don't know, but it appeared that he and Commander Ares had been talking," Rebecca said.

"Whatever it was it was probably important," Nall said.

"He said that he would be down as soon as he could," Rebecca said.

* * *

Troy went over the landing hangar that were on Centari One and was satisfied that they were still operational. He would pilot a shuttle on down there along with some medical personal from the Argo. Ares was sure that the medical labs down on the planet would be overflowing.

Troy received the launch instructions from Renee and pushed the launch button on the shuttle. It blasted off into space where he steered the shuttle down into the atmosphere of the planet. Within a few minutes he could hear Centari One's landing officer telling him where to dock the shuttle. It seemed that some hangers were more damaged than others. That and the range of Centari One's landing towers was severely limited because of damage to the tower.

Troy headed toward hangar four which was the least damaged hangar on the base. Two others had been severely damaged by the blasts. Now as the shuttle landed in the hanger there were more than a few people waiting for them. The doctor got out first along with a medical staff and equipment. They quickly made their way to the medical lab where their presence would be a welcomed sight to the over worked doctor there.

Troy transferred the shuttle over to Gunther and Jax who were standing there waiting for them. They had heard that Troy was piloting the shuttle. They also knew that he would want to head on over to the medical lab to check on Bri. They had quickly volunteered to pilot the shuttle back and forth from the Argo and the base.

Troy did not waste any time getting to the medical lab. He noticed that Nall and Rebecca were still there. The doctors were quickly working on everyone to make sure that they helped everyone. There were a few that had not made it. Those who did not were being taken out of the medical lab to make room for others. Troy went straight to Bri's side to see for himself how she was.

"Has she been awake at all," Troy asked Nall.

"Not yet, but she has squeezed my hand and that's a good sign," Nall said. "The doctor was over just a moment ago and witnessed it himself. Said she might be trying to wake up."

"Good," Troy said kneeling down beside Bri. He held her hand and brushed the hair off her face. "Hey honey how are you feeling?"

Nall stood up and rubbed his eyes. It had been quite a day already and it seemed like it was not over. Rebecca stood beside him wondering what all was going to happen after this. She was not expected to hear Troy's voice directed at her.

"Rebecca, have you ever heard of the gray's," Troy asked.

"Well, in my field I've heard of them. It is a rumored alien group that abducts humans for strange experiments. Such tales were especially prevalent in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries," Rebecca said. "They're called grays because their skin was a grey color. They were smaller than a normal human with large black eyes and head. Why do you want to know?"

"Oh, just that one of the guys that was trying to take over the Hermes talked about them and their plan to take over Earth. He said that we were working with them," Troy replied.

"Sounds like a strange story," Nall replied.

"Most people no longer believe in them anymore. They are figments of people being too gullible and believing what they hear," Rebecca said.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that," Troy said now having a bit more information. The being that Rebecca described seemed to fit the alien that was in Troy's vision.

Rebecca was about to reply to that when a groan interrupted the conversation. Troy immediately turned his attention back to Bri. She was coming slowly back to conscious. Green eyes slowly blinked opened then quickly shut again.

"Ow," Bri said. "Does the light have to be so bright," she said, making everyone glad that she appeared to be on the way to a recovery.

"How do you feel Br," Troy asked, taking her hand again.

"Like daggit dung," Bri said. "My head hurts, my arm hurts and my leg hurts. What happened?"

"It seemed that some of our new allies thought we were going to invade Earth," Troy said.

"We are, since when. Why doesn't anyone tell me of our mission changing," Bri said, opening her eyes again this time to frown at Troy.

"I don't know but I didn't get the message either," Troy said.

Nall figured that now that he knew that Bri was going to be all right that he would go and volunteer to help with the clean up. He made eye contact with Bri then went off to help the cleanup crews in whatever what he could.

* * *

Ares sat behind his desk on the Argo. A lot had happened recently and he was not sure what would happen next. The reports from Centari One were slowly coming in. So far there had been ten killed with thirty-six injured. Three of the killed had been part of the crew of the Argo. That was a loss for them all as they had become a family over the course of the journey.

The next part of the investigation was questioning who had been behind it. They were lucky in this part in that they had captured most of the people who had been behind it. Ares was sure that the real master minds behind the attack were not here but back on Earth. That meant that he would have to be careful in what they did or said.

"Commander Ares," Pratt's voice said over the intercom.

"What is it Colonel Pratt," Ares replied.

"We have finished our questioning of the prisoners. I think you'll find the finding quite interesting," Pratt said.

"All right, meet me in the briefing room along with Captain Troy, Robert and Senator Sam," Ares said.

"Yes sir," Pratt replied.

Ares got up and made his way out of his office wondering what type of information they would gain from the questioning. He had learned that Bri was going to be all right but the doctors wanted her to remain under observation for a bit longer.

* * *

Ares walked into the meeting room where Troy already was sitting. The man looked a bit better than last time. A lot had happened since then. They had been able to interrogate the persons responsible for what happened. Now Ares hoped that they had a better understanding as to why it happened.

"All right, now that everyone is here let's hear what information we have," Ares said looking around at everyone.

"All right," Robert said. He had been present for the questioning and had asked many of the questions. "First off, I want to tell you that the actions of the few do not represent all of us."

"We understand Robert," Ares said. Many of the Colonial warriors had made friends with those from Earth.

"It seems that they were acting under the orders of a Senator from Earth," Robert said. That did not seem to faze Sam. For him it made sense and he had a good idea as to which senator.

"Did they say why they acted like they did," Ares said knowing that this would be a much more important question. This would determine how they would handle the entire situation.

"Apparently they believe that you and your group are part of an invasion force to conquer Earth," Robert said. "I know that a lot of us don't believe that but they seem to believe it quite a bit."

"Well, the logical solution would include him in what we are doing," Ares said as he thought of different ways to defuse the situation. The one thing that Ares did not want was more bloodshed over this.

"Perhaps, but he may not like that. Right now he does not know if we succeeded or failed. We might be able to use that to our advantage now," Troy said from where he was sitting. He still had a bad feeling about everything. Part of it stemmed from his vision that he had seen.

"Do you have a better solution," Sam said. "I have known most of these senators for years. There are a few that I would trust to backstab me in politics but nothing literal like this."

"Perhaps, but they did organize this attack," Troy replied to which the senator had no reply for. Someone had organized the attack and so far all signs pointed to a senator that he probably knew.

"The question then comes up again, what should we do," Sam asked looking at Troy.

"We might be able to use one of the group, Mike," Troy said. "He so far appears to not really be on their side. We might be able to use him to lure the senator into thinking that we've been badly hurt."

"Not destroyed," Robert asked.

"I don't think that he believes one attack will work," Sam said. "I know that I would not. But a weak enemy is better to look out for."

"Do you think that would work," Ares asked Troy.

"It just might give us the time we need to regroup in the shadows again," Troy said.

"You make us sound like we're hiding or something," Sam said.

"In a way we are," Troy said. "But I do have a feeling that things are going to change."

"Set the priority to rebuilding the base and finishing the Tiger," Ares said. "That should give us a bit of time. Then bay 2 should be completed by then and the Argo will be upgraded at that time."

With a plan in place the meeting broke up. Troy made his way back to the med lab to check on Bri. She was back on board the Argo and undergoing observations for a concussion that she sustained in the blast. Everyone knew that there was still a lot to do and that a lot depended on how Mike was able to perform. Troy had a good feeling about this plan. It had the potential to work.

* * *

"I'm feeling fine," Troy heard his wife's voice say from where he was standing, close to the medical lab. Bri did not like the medical lab. It came from when she was younger. She had told him about it one night when they were on their voyage.

Bri had been about four yahrens old at the time when the Cylons had attacked the colony they were on. The house the family was staying had been destroyed in the attack. She had been injured along with her mother and father. All of them were taken to the nearby med lab which was overflowing from all the patients. Though Bri did not say too much she did say that her parents had died there and she had been left alone near them for a long time. It had a major psychological impact on her which Troy could not blame.

He walked in to see Bri sitting up on the bed. Her broken bones already healed. She was glaring at the doctor who seemed oblivious to her withering glare.

"Hey gorgeous," Troy said, with a smile as he walked over to where she was sitting. He received the same look and he knew that she was annoyed. "You'll be out of here in no time." he said as he stood near the bed.

"I want out of here," she growled, still giving him a look.

Troy sighed then decided to go and talk with the doctor. "Wait here and I'll see if I can charm the doctor into letting you go," he said. "I'm sure you're charm was let me go or else."

"Ha-ha," Bri said, without much humor but watched as he walked over to where the doctor was standing.

"Hey doc, is there any real reason besides observation that you need to keep her here," Troy asked him.

"It would be best for her to stay here," the doctor said.

"She's had a rough time in medical labs and really doesn't like it in here. Now, she can either stay here and continue to ask for her freedom, disturbing others or I can watch her," Troy said. "All you would have to do is let me know what to look for."

The doctor thought about it for a few seconds before finally relenting. He told Troy very seriously that if she had a headache or got dizzy to return her back to the medical lab right away. Troy promised and with a smile walked back to a still frustrated wife.

"I managed to spring you," Troy said, watching as Bri hopped out of the bed faster than he thought anyone could. She did not seem fazed by the speed at which she was ready to go. He felt dizzy though watching her and wondered if that would work. If he did that then as his Earth buddies said he would be in the dog house.

"Let's go," Bri said, all but dragging Troy out of the medical lab. He managed to spare one glance at the doctor who was smiling at him and several other patience were also smirking. With a shake of his head he rushed to catch up with his wife.

"Hey," Nall's voice said in the hallway. They turned to see him walking towards the door. "I see they finally let you go. I was wondering about that. Did you finally take my advice?"

"Advice," Troy said looking at Bri then at Nall. "Are you the one who told her to complain until they let her go."

"No, I told her to flirt with the nurses," Nall said with a laugh, causing Troy to roll his eyes.

"You are a sick man," Bri said glaring at him.

"I take it that's a no to a threesome with a nurse," Nall said as Bri walked up to him. Troy was torn from saving Nall and letting his wife vent her frustrations. He missed what she did, but suddenly Nall was hopping up and down as Bri had a pleasant smirk on her face.

"Nall, perhaps you should wait a bit or you might end up in the medical lab," Troy said.

"Oh, there's a thought, guilt trip," he said with a smile. "Oh, I think you broke it," he said putting an exaggerated limp in his step.

"Faker," Bri said.

"I've never faked it in bed, ever," Nall said, puffing out his chest.

"Pervert," Bri said. She backhanded him in the stomach causing him to exhale quickly. "Come on, I'm tired and want to go to my own room and my own bed."

"All right," Troy said putting his arm around her.

"All kidding aside," Nall said placing his hand on her shoulder. "I'm glad you're all right."

"I know me too," Bri replied.

Nall walked off to find Rebecca to see what was going on there while Troy and Bri headed back to their quarters. Troy had been able to cancel their trip. It was something that he had looked forward to. But now he would work on a new time to go. He would have to talk with Bri and Commander Ares about their next break. For now though he had a wife to watch the rest could wait.

End of Healing

Go on to Enemy Sighted


	23. Chapter 23: Enemy Sighted

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Enemy Sighted**

Bri rested as the Hermes went through space between Centari One and Earth. She and Troy were finally going on their vacation that they had planned almost two months earlier. Last time, they had almost been ready to go when the attack on Centari One had occurred. A lot had happened since then.

The most notable change had been who was controlling the operation. Before the attack Ares had allied himself with one of the more prominent Earth governments. Now everyone involved was questioning that wisdom. It was fairly obvious that there were some in the government who did not what them around for whatever reason. The reason that had been given to those who had actually carried out the attacks was they were here to take over Earth.

Troy had seemed even more hushed over who he thought was really behind it than usual. The only thing that Bri was able to get out of him was that he had to wait and see. She was not sure if she liked that answer of not. She was sure that he knew more than he was telling her.

The announcement that the ship arrived at Earth shook Bri out of her musing. At last her vacation would begin. She felt excited by the prospect of going on a cruise where she was taken care of and would not have to do anything.

"Come on, we better go," Troy said to her, as they picked up their bags and made their way to the hangar. The hangar had a couple of Earth shuttles to avoid being seen. They would land on some property that the new company owned. The shuttle was also covered in the new stealth metal to avoid detection once they left the Earth's atmosphere.

"I'm so ready for this vacation," Bri said. She talked to a few others, who had taken a cruise or some other sort of vacation. The last time they had taken any sort of time off was after their wedding. They really had not done much sightseeing.

The two of them boarded the shuttle which quickly left after everyone climbed on board. There was little that they had to do now except relax and enjoy their vacation.

* * *

Ares sat down at his desk in his office to look over the recent reports about how the Tiger was coming along. Right now Nall and Jax were helping to train the ship's fighter squadron. The Tiger could only hold fourteen vipers which was about normal. The ship's real mission was to engage the Cylons baseships. The battlestars carried the fighters.

The report stated that the pilots were adapting quickly to space combat. Ares was glad about that. He read over what the crew was doing as well. They seemed to adapt quickly to their new jobs. For the moment Pratt would be the commander of the Tiger, at least until the next ship finished completion. Ares had thought that he might put Pratt in charge of training of the crews of the ships. That was something he would have to talk to Pratt about.

The next report was about the senator that Mike had reported to. Ever since the attack on Centari One he wanted to know what they were up to. So far the senator, Frank Kastle, had not been too busy. Ares had the feeling that he mostly bought into Mike's story about how the attack went down. Mike was now working as basically a double spy. He was still working for them but kept reports to the senator, some truthful others stretched the truth quite a bit. Mike no longer really believed that they were there to conquer Earth.

Ares flipped to the next page and frowned a bit. The senator had arranged a meeting with the company that had taken over the space agency of the government. Ares had also learned that the senator was the majority stalk holder of the company. That meant that the man had a direct control over the exploration of space and the sea. What had him frowning was what happened after the meeting.

The moon base which was thriving had its budget cut almost in half. That seemed a bit strange. Along with that a large cut in staff also occurred. Ares scanned though the list of people and wondered how they would keep the base operational. Currently it was operating at only half of its abilities. Now it was severely limited on what it was able to do.

The senator justified it by saying that recent polls indicated that no one seemed interested in exploring space. Ares was not sure but something about everything made him uneasy about what was going on with this. If this kept up then the moon base would be abandoned before it could even reach its full potential. That would be a sad event if such a thing were to happen.

The next report he turned to was the supplies that were coming from the planet. The metals on the planet were quite plentiful. The Hermes transported the fuel until the tanker transport would be completed. It was currently under construction at the second dock. The first dock was now building a new destroyer class ship while a third dock was under construction.

The third dock would be big enough to build a battlestar. The three docks would undertake the building of most of the ships. The base at Centari One had been completely repaired and the base was undergoing expansion again. He was glad that things were once again on track with the building again.

The last report was from the Colonies. There really was nothing much to read. So far the Colonies were still fighting the Cylons. The war did not seem to be favoring either side. Ares knew that would eventually change and he just hoped that he could build up a force quickly to help change the course of war back home.

The crew of the Argo had now been gone almost two yehrens. It really was not that long of a time now that they had a planet they could go to and Earth nearby to break the boredom of being on a warship. The only problem was friends were no longer here and homes were a long ways away. Ares tried not to dwell on those facts as he thought about everything that was going on. As long as the Colonies survived they would someday be back.

* * *

Nall walked though the hallways of the newly completed Tiger. The ship had not taken that long to complete. The design was actually quite simple to make and the ship itself was not as large as a battlestar. It had greater firepower than a battlestar but not as many fighters. A small hangar located under the ship would launch and recover the fighters. He had heard that destroyer class ship would be the next one to be built.

Nall reached the door to the meeting room to debrief the pilots and it slid open to allow him in. The technology was the one thing that he had to learn. The computers and other electronics were more advanced than anything he had ever seen. The Earthers and Colonials had worked very hard together to make sure that the Cylons could not infiltrate the computers of the ship. To do that the ship was divided into many subcategories. It meant that the ship would need more people to man but less likely that if one system went down then the others would be infected as well.

Nall walked into the room seeing that Jax was already in there. They were still waiting on a few more pilots, then they would be able to begin their reports. So far the pilots had done very well. They had taken Jax and him by surprise by how quickly they had adapted. The hardest part they had to get used to, no up or down in space. It effected them most when landing.

"Welcome everyone," Nall said, when the last of the group came in and sat down. "First of all I wish to tell everyone that you're doing great," he told, causing them to smile.

"There's still a lot of training left to work on. Remember that we still have yet to introduce you to combat techniques," Jax said. "Combat is different than just normal flying. We want you to gain as much experience in flying and getting comfortable with flying before introducing combat."

"Small mistakes you make in normal flying could cost you your life when flying in combat," Nall said. "Take it from us, we've fought the enemy and know. I've seen it happen to people who were better than I was."

"Then what happened to them," one of the pilots asked.

"He thought he was too good and made a mistake, the Cylon didn't," Nall replied. "Just remember this, don't think that you're perfect, that's when you're dead."

Several heads nodded that they would remember that. Nall and Jax hoped that they would not have to repeat themselves about that.

"Are we going to be engaging these Cylons for real," one pilot asked.

"Eventually you probably will," Nall said. "The one thing I don't know is if it will be because you're fighting for Earth or not."

"I thought that the Cylons were the Colonies' enemy," the same pilot said.

"At the moment yes, but the Cylons don't like all of humankind, not just the Colonies," Nall answered. "This was is really to the death. There is no surrender or peace treaty with them."

"Why don't you just try to reprogram them," another pilot asked.

"You're talking about reprogramming hundreds of thousands of separate computers. Each Cylon operates independently. At one time they were linked together but that was actually a weakness and not a strength. We were able to use that link to our advantage, causing them to abandon such tactics," Nall said. "Remember that just because something looks like a strength doesn't mean it is."

"All right, now here is the results of your latest flights," Jax said getting back to the reason they were there.

They spent the rest of the time working on who need what type of training. Overall Nall and Jax were pleased with everyone.

* * *

The Hermes loaded its passengers on board ready to make its return trip to Centari One. The ship had unloaded several people and now it had recovered its shuttles and now it was ready to leave. The ship slowly moved out of the southern pole of the planet. It was a place that was not heavily observed so they could be there a bit longer.

The scanner operator looked at his screen to make sure that the path was clear. The last thing they really needed was to encounter a stray shuttle that was running late. It had almost happened a few times. Fortunately they spotted the shuttle early enough to move the ship.

Today the operator did not see anything that would likely indeed their voyage. There were a few shuttles but they all appeared on time. The Hermes was also outside of detection range. They had tested extensively the detection range of the shuttles to see how close the Hermes could come before anyone detected them.

The captain ordered the ship to full speed. They quickly made their way out of Earth space and headed towards Centari One. Just before leaving the scanner operator thought that he noticed a blip on the edge of his scanner's range. He checked it again but whatever it was they were already out of scanning range. He figured that it was probably some space debris but he would go on ahead and tell his captain about it.

* * *

Bri stood at the dock looking up at the large passenger liner. She did not have anything to compare it to, except for the battlestars, which were very large. With Troy following right behind her they made their way down the line as it moved along. Their luggage had already been taken on board the ship and would be waiting for them in their cabin. They finally were on their way to board the ship.

Several young men and woman greeted them as they walked aboard. The person in charge looked at their room and another person led them to their room. When the door to their room opened Troy was a bit relieved to see that their luggage had arrived safely.

"Is there anything else I can do for you?" the steward asked.

"No thanks," Troy replied, as the steward walked away back to the main deck to help other passengers.

"Well, finally a room to ourselves and a comfortable bed," Bri said, as she laid back on the bed.

"I don't know about you, but I'm a bit hungry," Troy said. "Come on, they said that the lunch was still going on for another hour."

They walked out of the cabin and headed to the café. Bri wondered about what she had been told about a cruise being just a twenty-four hour feast and party. Glancing though the list of events she could see why people said that. It seemed like something was going on at almost all times of the day.

Bri was a bit surprised at the amount of food that was available when they arrived at the café. People were laughing and having a good time. They got a plate and some food then wondered around looking for a place to sit. Another couple motioned for them to join them.

"It can get crowded here in a hurry," the man said to them. "I'm John and this is my wife, Helen."

"I'm Bri and this is my husband Troy," Bri replied, before Troy could say anything.

"Nice to meet you, so where are you from," John asked.

"Here and there," Troy replied not really sure how to reply to that question.

"Surely you have a place that you call home," Helen asked. Everyone had at least one place to call home.

"Well, our jobs require that we move around a lot," Bri said. "Right now we're stationed in Yellowjack."

"Never heard of it," John said, making Bri and Troy feel a bit better.

"What about you," Bri asked.

"We're from the Los Angeles area," Helen said. It was a place that Bri and Troy had both heard of.

"Look dear, the Prothemeus," John said, pointing to a ship out in the harbor that was slowly steaming away from the harbor.

"Oh, that would be exciting to be on," Helen replied to her husband.

"The Prothemeus," Bri said, not sure she really knew what that ship was.

"Only the most advanced ocean surveyor in the world," John said. "My company helped build it. It will look for new places on the bottom of the ocean to mine, farm and live."

"What about space," Bri asked.

"Space, that's so archaic," Helen said, like she had just tasted something bitter.

"Space is dead and worthless," John said.

"I think you'd be surprised," Troy said.

"We all know that science has finally proven that there is no life in outer space," Helen said confidently. "I'm glad that they are finally going to be shutting down the moon base. It's been nothing but trouble and a waste of money."

Bri opened her mouth to say something when she received a poke to the ribs. She turned to glance at Troy with a silent question.

"What about metals that might be found and could be mined," Troy asked.

"Too expensive to undertake," John said. "It's better to remain here than anywhere else. I take it you don't agree."

"No, not really. I've always thought that we could do both," Troy said, as they finished up their meal. "Well there's a large ship to explore if we don't want to get lost," he said. "If you'll excuse us."

"Of course," John said, as Troy and Bri got up.

"That was different, a bit arrogant if you ask me," Bri said.

"Perhaps," Troy said. He wondered if they would meet John and his wife again one day.

* * *

Nall knocked on the door to the office waiting for Commander Ares to grant him permission to enter. The door slid open along with the command to enter. Nall walked over to a seat and sat down waiting for the commander to tell him why he was there.

"The past two trips that the Hermes has made they've encountered a strange blip on the scanner. I want you to go on the next trip," Ares said. "I want you to take Jax with you along with your vipers."

"Trouble?" Nall asked, not sure that he like this. "Do you think that the Cylons followed us here."

"I don't think it's the Cylons," Ares said. "Shortly after the attack on Centari One Troy came to me. He had another vision while defending the Hermes against the attackers."

Nall's eyebrows rose at this piece of information. "I didn't know," Nall said, not sure that he like this.

"We decided to keep it quiet. There are probably spies among the Earthers but we don't know which ones we can trust," Ares said. "The least amount of people who knew about it the better chance that we had of having an advantage."

"Any idea as to what we're on the lookout for," Nall asked, knowing that it would be a good thing to know what to look for.

"Not really. Just something out of the ordinary," Ares said, not really able to offer more information.

"I'll keep our eye open for anything that seems strange then," Nall said.

Nall got up then walked out of the room looking for Jax. They would be on the Hermes on the next run. On the positive side he would be there to greet Troy and Bri on their return from their vacation. He just hoped that they did not return to a new war. He just hoped that they enjoyed their vacation as much as he had enjoyed his.

* * *

Bri and Troy waited for the call for them to disembark the ship. The cruise had been wonderful. The sights they had seen were beautiful. They had also seen much wildlife of the planet Earth. They saw several whales before entering Glacier Bay. During one of their land trips they had seen a large bear and a couple of deer. Bri would take their word that you don't want to encounter a bear by yourself.

"Numbers eight and twelve," the intercom said. Troy looked down to see that their number had finally been called.

"That's us, let's go," Troy said as the two of them got up to exit the ship.

"Ah, Mr. Troy," a voice said from behind them. "How did you and your wife enjoy the cruise?"

They both turned to see John and his wife Helen walking towards them. They had not seen them since that first day on board the boat.

"We enjoyed it a lot, how about you," Troy asked the man.

"It was enlightening," John said. "I saw quite a bit how about you?"

"Yes, so many things I wouldn't normally see, fascinating," Troy said.

"Well I'm sure that we'll see each other again someday," John said.

"Count on it," Troy replied. Bri had remained quiet while Troy and John talked. To her it seemed that more was going on than a verbal exchange. She was looking forward to when they were alone to ask him what had just happened.

The two of them walked down the plank way and though the building. Waiting for them was one person who would take them back to their departure point. Troy was still thinking about John when Bri spoke up.

"All right, what was that conversation back there," Bri asked, now that they were alone.

"He was in the vision I had. I'm not sure which side he was one but I do get the feeling that he is not on our side," Troy said.

"So he might be behind whoever attacked us and is going to wage war on Earth," Bri sadi.

"Maybe, this vision was strong yet very vague and confusing," Troy said honestly.

"So this group is an unknown threat," Bri asked.

"Yes," Troy replied. "I wasn't able to find a common theme to what they were doing."

"Are they trying to take over Earth, or something else," Bri asked, wondering if it was something that they had not thought of.

"I think that they are trying to conquer Earth, but for what reason I don't know," Troy said. That was one thing in his visions that had not been answered.

"That's going to put a damper on our plans," Bri said, as she thought about it.

"Yeah, it might put the entire war against the Cylons in jeopardy," Troy said.

"As the Earthers say, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it," Troy said.

* * *

Nall waited on the Hermes as the ship entered orbit around Earth. So far the scanners had not picked up anything unusual in the area that the contacts had normally been encountered. He was wondering how many trips it would take before they could tell what the contacts were. The first couple of shuttles had already begun their decent down to the planet's surface.

Nall knew that Troy and Bri would be on their way us from the surface. He had the feeling that the two of them had a wonderful vacation. He went with Rebecca to another national park. This one had something called geysers and hot springs. The park was called Yellowstone and was one of the oldest on the planet.

Nall had to admit, the park impressed him. The geysers were impressive as he had seen Old Faithful, Riverside, Great Fountain, Grand, along with many others whose names he could not remember. There were quite a few other thermal features, all in the same general location. He had also learned that when he was there he was standing in the middle of one of Earth's largest volcanoes. He was not sure if that information helped him out or not.

He did not have to wait long until the shuttle headed back on up to the Hermes. He went over to the hangar to talk to Troy and Bri. They would want to know the information about the scanner contacts.

"Hey Nall," Bri said, as they walked out of the shuttle. He was not the person they were expecting to see that was for sure.

"How was your vacation," Nall asked.

"Very relaxing for the most part," Bri said.

"Relaxing, you mean you slept at all," Nall said with a grin.

"Pervert," Bri said, with a roll of her eyes. "But yes we did that as well," she said watching as Nall's eye lit up.

"Oh, do tell," Nall said with a grin.

"So what brings you out here," Troy asked. "I know it wasn't for Bri's sex life."

"Okay, well aside from that the Hermes' scanner operator has picked up a few unexplained contacts," Nall said.

"Interesting, you're here just in case," Troy said.

"Yep," Nall said. "Come on I want to hear how you enjoyed the cruise."

* * *

The scanner operator watched, along with a colonial warrior, the screen as the Hermes began to leave Earth's space. The colonial was there in case he did see something. She was tall with dark hair and he thought he had heard someone call her Jax but was not sure.

Part of him was a bit unnerved by the fact she was there but another part of him was glad. If she saw it then he was not just seeing things. He was about to say something to her when the blip appeared.

"That's it," the operator said.

Jax looked at the screen. It was definitely something but it could be a planet or moon or a large asteroid. But it could also be something else as well.

"Lieutenant Nall, report to the bridge," Jax said over the intercom. This is what they were there for.

Nall appeared along with Troy and Bri. For once she was glad that there all together.

"Did you find something," Troy asked, assuming command like he always did in these type of situations.

"Another blip on the scanner," Jax replied.

"All right," Troy said, thinking about it for a second. "Bri and I will fly a shuttle out there and see what is going on."

"A shuttle," Nall said.

"Its plated with the stealth metal the vipers have not yet had that advantage put in place," Troy said.

"All right, go on ahead, Jax and I'll be waiting in our vipers," Nall said.

* * *

Bri was a bit nervous as she and Troy piloted the shuttle closer to the contact point. Neither of them was sure what they were going to find. She was keeping a close eye on their scanners. There were a lot of other asteroids in the area so it could very well be nothing. Then again it was the perfect place to hide a ship or fleet of ships.

"Troy," Bri suddenly said not sure she liked what she saw.

Troy glanced down to look at the scanners. There on the screen he saw a configuration of six ships in the middle of the asteroids along with a larger asteroid type base of operations.

"I think we better get back to the Hermes," Bri said. "Two vipers against all that is not going to work."

"Right," Troy said as he turned the shuttle around. "Though it doesn't look like they've seen us, that's a plus."

They quickly piloted the shuttle back to the Hermes to report on what they had found. He was sure that the Commander would not like what he had to report. Whoever the ships belonged to they were not Cylons but they did not know why they were there either. Troy hoped that they could find out quickly.

End of Enemy Sighted

Go on to Enemy Attacks


	24. Chapter 24: The Enemy Attacks

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**The Enemy Attacks**

Troy and Bri landed the shuttle on the hanger of the Hermes quickly disembarking from the shuttle. Nall and Jax were there quickly to find out what they had seen. From the way they had come back it was obvious that the two encountered something out there. Now all they had to do was figure out what it was.

"I think we've got a problem," Troy said to the two of them before they could say anything.

"A fleet of unknown alien ships," Bri said. "At least six ships and a base of operations."

"Warships," Jax asked, as she tried to think of why there would be ships there.

"Unknown," Troy said. "Of course we didn't stay very long to find out either."

"Probably a wise decision. Though the scanner operator says that nothing has moved out of that area," Nall said.

"It's probably something that we'll want to keep an eye on that's for sure," Troy said. "I would like to come back and try to gain more information about what they are going here and about the ships that are there."

"I wish that the new vipers would be ready soon," Jax said, having seen a prototype of the new viper.

They all knew that the new viper that Doctor Weaver and his team were constructing would be faster and more maneuverable than the current viper. The addition of missiles, or bombs, to the vipers meant something new for them to get used to. They all realized with this increase in firepower, a single viper could perform both fighter and bomber roles.

"I know, but we will have to make do with what we have," Nall replied.

"I think then we should wait until we have more information," Troy said, mentally going over what they had, in case the unknown group became violent.

"I'll talk to Commander Ares when we get back," Nall said.

"So, how was the vacation?" Jax asked, as they walked out of the hangar and towards an area where they could sit. It changed the subject for now, allowing them all to relax once more. With the improved engines, the Hermes traveled from Earth to Centari in twelve hours, more than enough time to swap stories.

* * *

The scanner operator heard the report that came back from the shuttle. He was a bit relieved seeing a clear scanner. He was a bit disturbed by an unknown fleet so close to Earth. No one seemed to know anything about the ships. The lack of information concerned him.

He leaned back and stretched his back from sitting down for so long when his scanner beeped. He realized the captain would want to see this.

"Ah, captain, I think we've got a larger problem," the scanner operator said, turning to look at the captain.

The captain walked on over, glanced down at the screen. He had known about the ships in the asteroids, but now he was not sure he liked what he was seeing. The scanner indicated that several large ships were now on their way away from where they had been. The projected course was Earth.

"Get me Lieutenant Nall at once," the captain said. He was sure that they would want to know what was going on. He only hoped that what was going to happen was not what he thought was going to happen.

* * *

Nall made his way up to the bridge along with the rest of the group. They had been on their way to a small sitting room where they could talk when Nall had received the call from the bridge. If it had not been for the tone of the captain's voice only Nall would have gone up to the bridge.

"I wonder what's going on," Nall asked as they made their way to the bridge.

"The tone in the captain's voice held a lot of concern," Troy said, hoping that he did not know what was going on. He had decided to remain quiet for the moment. If he was right there would be little they could do now.

They walked onto a very quiet bridge, everyone huddled around the scanner. It confirmed Troy's fears. They quickly made their way over to the scanner to see what was going on.

"Captain," Nall said, as he approached the man.

"Lieutenant Nall," the captain replied, he motioned them over while still looking at the scanner. They glanced down at the screen noticing a group of ships heading towards Earth.

"What's going on," Nall asked, as the continued to watch.

"These six ships just left the asteroid field and are now headed on a course straight for Earth," the captain said. "I've ordered the ship to head back a bit to see if we can figure out what is going to happen."

"None of the ships have made a move towards us," Troy asked, wondering how much of an improvement the stealth metal was. They might be able to watch what happens without being noticed.

"So far no," the captain said. "I'm maintaining our distance, just in case."

"Wise decision," Nall said. The estimate of when the ship would arrive was quickly calculated. The ships would arrive in Earth's orbit in twenty minutes. They would have their answer then. Several people had theories about what would happen. They ranged from a first contact ambassador fleet to an invasion fleet. Troy did not say anything, but he had his bet on an invasion. He also had the knowledge, they could do little to stop it.

Even if they contacted Commander Ares, the Argo was too far away to do anything useful and would arrive too late. The other thing that Troy wanted was to find out what type of technology the aliens were using. If one of their ships had the same amount of firepower as the Argo then rushing to the rescue would not be a great course of action. Troy figured that the best thing was information. The more information they could gather the better off they would be.

* * *

Six alien craft made their way to Earth. As the ships approached Earth, one broke formation and headed to the moon base. So far no one on the lunar base had noticed the approach of the ships. The staff, so severely reduced, never even saw them coming. Most of the operations centered around the few experiments using the moon's weaker gravity.

Several smaller craft appeared from the larger craft. The smaller craft quickly made their way to the lunar base. The ships opened fire upon the base. The people in the base had no change to escape from the death trap that the base was. The hull integrity went almost immediately allowing the air to escape into the vacuum of space. The few areas that had managed to close the pressure doors found themselves protected for only a little while.

The smaller craft continued to fire on the base until it was nothing but rubble. The odds of anyone surviving the attack on the base were not good. There were few places that could have survived without losing its precious air. The smaller craft returned to the larger ship which returned to where the other five ships were waiting.

* * *

Troy and the others watched on the bridge of the Hermes as the alien ship attacked the base on the moon, shocked into silence. Troy had the feeling that the worst was still yet to come.

"Did they manage to get any signal out," Troy asked the operator.

"No," the operator said with a slight shake of her head. She had not been ready for this.

"Do we have laser communication with our base on Earth," Troy asked.

"Yes, the building just came into range," the operator said.

"Get them on the line using laser communications," Troy said. It took a few second before the Earth base commander came on the line. He looked like he arrived a second ago. Troy was also sure that he did not know what was going on.

"Captain Troy, what can I do for you," the man said.

"Put the base on immediate lockdown, and get your people to the shelters now," Troy said, watching as the man looked a bit confused by what Troy was saying.

"Peter," the captain of the Hermes said. "We just saw lunar base destroyed by attacking craft."

That got Peter's attention as he heard what his friend has just said. "What, that's impossible," Peter said, obviously not wishing to understand what they said.

"Believe it or not commander, they are taking up positions as we speak. They are going to attack," Troy said.

"I need to warn the government and the military," Peter said.

"Which you can do from the shelter," Troy said. "I want to make sure that you're all right okay. You can call us again from the shelter after you contact the governments. But I don't know how much time you have."

"Fine, we'll go on ahead and go on down," Peter said. "Sara, order a lockdown of the building."

Troy could hear a voice in the distance, who he figured must be Sara, then Peter's voice again ordering the lockdown. A few seconds later Peter came back on.

"All right, it's done," Peter said. "Now what?"

"For now stay put, we need information about these aliens," Troy said. "Just do whatever reporting that you can do without getting caught, and stay alive."

"All right," Peter said. "I'll call you from the lockdown position."

"We'll be waiting then," Troy replied, as the line when dead. Troy could only hope that it was for now.

* * *

The six ships then took up positions around the Earth. Once each ship was in place a swarm of fighter type ships headed straight for Earth.

On the Hermes Troy and the others watched as the smaller ships left the large ships and headed for the Earth's surface. Troy was wondering what the alien race was doing. Six ships seemed like small of an attack force to conquer a planet to him. There had to be more to this plan than what they had seen already.

"Captain, scan the surrounding area for anything that might be a bit different or out of the ordinary," Troy said. The more he had thought about everything the less he like it. If the aliens were intent on conquering the planet then they would need a larger ship, a transport or something like that.

The scanner operator scanned the surrounding area for what he hoped would be nothing. He did keep a sharp look out for anything that might be a bit different. He did not see anything at the moment but knew that the situation could change at any moment.

The captain had turned on news reports from Earth to see what was going on. No one on board really thought that Peter could inform the government in time to really do anything about it. There was also the believability factor, an alien race invading Earth. He had to think many on Earth would see this as a conspiracy for a desperate gasp by the space agency.

The news programs that they were picking up so far did not say anything about what might be going on? There was also the reason that the alien craft had just reached the planet's surface and that the signals from the news programs took a few seconds longer to reach them.

Then the news reports began to inform their viewers that something was going on. The reporters struggled to get information about what was going on. The sketchy reports of explosions at the military bases had begun to filter in.

"This is one time that fractured governments will really hurt them," Troy said, more to himself than anyone else. That was something that he and Ares had talked about. If Earth was to fight a war against the Cylons then being united would help.

"The first thing they will probably think about is that it's being done by one of the other governments," the captain said with a snort. No one disagreed with the statement.

"We can only hope that Peter is able to survive and give us a report," Troy said. "We should relay this to the Argo and everyone there so they know what's going on."

The captain and his crew quickly worked to get the signal headed to Centari One. Troy also put a request in to talk with Commander Ares as soon as possible.

* * *

"Captain Gunther, come in," Ares said motioning the man into his office. The Tiger was approaching completion and Gunther was working on training the fighter crews while Jax and Nall were away. "How are they doing?"

"They will be ready when the Tiger is fully operational at the end of this month," Gunther said. "They are picking up the training quite well."

"That's good news," Ares said. "Any word on the rest of the crew?"

"Well, all the reports are that they are ready to serve aboard the Tiger already," Gunther said, having heard some of the reports. "Colonel Pratt said that he was looking forward to putting the crew to their tests at the end of the month.

Ares nodded his head with agreement and was about to say something else when Renee's voice over the communicator interrupted him. He got up and went on over to ask what the problem was.

"Captain Troy is on the line for you commander," Renee said.

"Any idea what he wants," Ares asked.

"No sir," Renee replied.

"All right, I'll be right there," Ares said, turning around to where Gunther was. "We'll finish this later."

"Yes sir," Gunther replied wondering what Troy was calling about. Like everyone else he had heard the rumors about mysterious ships. They were all waiting for something to happen but no one had any idea about what, or when, this problem would occur.

Gunther followed Ares up to the bridge to see if he could find out what was going on. If something was going on he wanted to be in the position to help out as much as he could. The bridge of the Argo was lightly manned at the moment as the ship was on some down time. Ares walked straight up to his command chair and waited a few seconds for the screen to turn on and Troy's face to appear.

"Captain, what can I do for you," Ares asked wondering what was so important that Troy had call in.

"We've got a big problem here commander," Troy said. "We discovered what the unidentified reading on the scanner was."

Ares heard what Troy said and had a feeling that he was about to receive bad news. The tone in Troy's voice told him how bad things were.

"Bri and I took the shuttle out to investigate, we found six ships of unknown configuration along with what was a base of operations," Troy said, letting that news sink in before he told them the rest of the news.

"Any idea as to the type of ships," Ares asked. He wanted to know if the ships were warships or something else.

"Warships," Troy replied.

"Are your sure," Ares asked wanting a bit more from Troy.

"Yeah, you might say we positive," Troy said. "The ships are currently attacking Earth."

The comment spread shocked everyone on the bridge, as they stopped what they were doing and looked up at the commander. Those from Earth hoped that what they heard wrong. Ares sat back in his chair stunned by the news he had just been told. A thousand thoughts went though his mind and none of them were good.

"What are the attackers' abilities," Ares asked, hoping to at least gain some information that could help them.

"We're working on that now. I've got Peter locking down the building on Earth. He's going to try to contact the governments on Earth to get their defenses up in time. If they do we might get a good idea of what type of abilities they have," Troy said to Ares.

"Then I guess we wait to see," Ares said. If they knew the attackers abilities he would know if he could head to Earth to help.

"Captain, we're picking up transmissions from Earth," a crew member said. Ares nodded, watching as they put up on the screen.

They watched as a news cast reported on what was going on down on Earth's surface. The reporter did not seem to know what was going on, only that an unknown force was attacking the city. A few external videos showed ships flying though the atmosphere strafing the city. They all could see explosions.

"My God," they heard the reporter exclaim. "Someone has launched an attack using advanced weapons against the United America Confederation. The rumor is that the Asia and Eastern Alliance have joined forces against us and have attacked us."

"Suzy, that's not entirely true," another reporter said, this one a man stepped into the picture. "I've just received word that the Eastern Alliance and Asia are also under attack."

That stunned Suzy, who stood stunned, unsure of what to say next. The bridge crew could see the confusion on the reporters faces. The image switched back to the city where smoke and fire could be seen. A building collapsed, sending a dust of debris up choking the view that the camera had. But that did not last too long as the picture went dead, replaced with fuzz.

"Can we get another channel," the captain said.

"Working on it captain," the communications officer said, working hard to find something. A few seconds later the screen blinked back to life with another reporter. This one spoken in a language that no one from the Colonies understood.

They watched as the reporters panicked by what happened. Ares could not blame them at all. He was sure that to them it looked like the end of the world was about to occur.

"I'm picking up power reading from the six ships," the scanner operator said, drawing their attention away from the screen in front of them. They looked at realized that it was a weapon build up. What they had to find out was what type of weapon the ships had.

One of the alien ships opened fire on the planet's surface. The scanners tracked the weapon down to the surface. There the beam exploded with the force of a nuclear weapon. It took out an entire section of a city within moments. The other ships also opened fire targeting the larger cities and military installations taking them out with pinpoint accuracy.

There were a lot of sad faces on the bridge as they watched what was going on. They felt helpless at what was going on. Several felt angry at what was a surprise attack on their planet. They had done nothing to incur such a hostile attack on Earth.

"Troy, continue to monitor, I'll call you back in a bit," Ares ordered, watching as Troy nodded his head and the screen went blank. "And I want to talk with Robert and Senator Sam at once," Ares said, then wondered what he would tell them.

* * *

"Let's record as much as we can people, we need to know what we're up against," Troy said taking command sending people into action from their stunned positions. They had a lot of work to do still.

"Any word from Peter yet," the captain asked hoping that they would have some communications from the small base on Earth. That would help them understand what type of weapons they were dealing with. The shelter of the building was designed to withstand the blasts of a Cylon attack. if it survived then they would be dealing with a race with either similar or weaker weapons.

"Not yet," the communications officer replied. She was quite busy at the moment with everything that was going on. She was hoping that they could get in touch with the base on Earth.

The screen which had the reporters on went out like the last group. Troy figured that either the place where the news group had been hit or the city had been destroyed. The alien ships in orbit had continued to fire their weapons at targets on the planet's surface. Troy was wishing that he was on board the Argo right now where they could launch a counter attack.

"I'm getting a communications captain," the communications officer said. "It's from the alien ships."

"Put it on," the captain said. The screen showed a grey alien with large black eyes and a small mouth and two holes where a nose would be.

"Attention people of Earth, surrender now and you might be spared your lives," the alien said. "We are the Arbus and you are now part of the Arbus Empire."

'Arbus,' Troy thought. He now had a name to put with the new enemy.

sssss

Ares turned to see Robert and Senator Sam walk onto the bridge. He had summoned them there once he had learned what was going on. Robert and Sam noticed a bit of a somber atmosphere on the bridge. They walked up to Ares who had Gunther standing behind him.

They both quickly walked up to the center of the bridge where Ares was standing. Both men were sure that the news was not that good but wondered what it could have been about. Robert wondered if the Cylons had finally beaten the Colonists or if the Cylons had found Earth. Either one was not a good situation.

"We just received some news from Earth, and it isn't good," Ares said.

"What do you mean it isn't good," Sam said, not sure if he followed what Ares was saying.

"On the last few trips to Earth the scanner operator of the Hermes had picked up a strange object on his scanner. I had Nall and Jax go along this time with a few vipers to check it out," Ares said.

"I take it they found something then," Robert said.

"Yes, six ships along with a space station of some sort. We're still not sure about it," Ares said to them.

"And the ships," Sam asked.

"Warships," Ares replied evenly.

"Are you sure about that, you could be mistaken," Robert said.

"I wish I was, but a few minutes ago they began attacking Earth," Ares said.

"What," both men said at the same time. They could not believe what they had just heard.

"The ships attacked Earth. I just received word of it from the captain of the Hermes. We're waiting to hear from Captain Peter on the Earth base to find out what the casualties there were on the planet's surface," Ares said. He was not sure how to break such bad news to friends of his.

"Are we on our way to help," Sam asked hoping that the Argo would be able to help them.

"I'm waiting on information. If it turns out that they are about equal in strength to the Argo, I cant take on six ships at one time," Ares said.

"But you would still be able to do something," Sam said.

"Senator, if we lose the Argo, and her people, then we lose the only chance we might have to counter attack," Robert said, beginning to understand why the Argo did not head into battle right away.

"In war information is key," Ares said. "The more we have the better off we are."

"Right I forgot," Sam said. "I guess I'm just worried."

"Understandable senator," Ares said. If he was in the same position he would be thinking just like the senator was.

"So what's the plan then," Robert asked.

"We're waiting to see what Peter can tell us, if he is able to that is," Ares said. "The Hermes is still standing by near Earth and I'm going to go ahead with the planning of the upgrade of the Argo. If this group is powerful then we'll need every advantage we can get."

"We should probably see about what help we might be able to render, and when," Robert said looking to Sam.

They had plans to make to save Earth. Ares wondered if this would affect their plans for helping the Colonies as well. He did know that if he did not help out

Earth then there would be no help for the Colonies.

End of The Enemy Attacks

Go on to Tiger Attack


	25. Chapter 25: Tiger Attack

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Tiger Attack**

Peter quickly headed down the stairs along with the rest of his staff, heading to the basement. They designed it as a shelter against a Cylon attack. Now they headed there because of an unknown alien force.

The one thing that made Peter proud of his people, was that no one was panick about what was going on. He was sure that they all had a reason to but felt relieved no one did. The next step, once he reached the basement, contact the governments. He had contacts within the North American government and hoped they would listen to him.

Peter reached the shelter command floor, then made his way over to the phone as quickly as possible. He quickly dialed the number from memory, waiting for a connection. It rang three times with each ring Peter was becoming more impatient.

"Dan Hemmin," the voice said over the phone.

"Dan, Peter," Peter said, waiting a moment for Dan to recognize the name. "Listen, I have information that a force of hostile space ships are headed to Earth."

"Aliens," Dan said, a bit perplexed by why Peter was calling.

"Yes, and they are going to attack Dan. We need to warn the people, and the military," Peter said.

"There's not need to worry Peter," Dan said suddenly. It sent warning bells off in Peter's mind.

"What do you mean no worry Dan," Peter said.

"The government has trained in first contact with an alien race for a while now," Dan said. "Don't worry everything will be all right."

Peter stared at the phone as the line went dead. He knew Dan since college. When Peter went into business Dan had gone into politics. It was something that the man had always wanted to do. However, the way Dan shrugged off the news made Peter uncomfortable.

"Get me the Hermes," Peter said, to a communication person. He glanced around at the many faces that were around him. He felt the immense weight of command, as everyone looked towards him for answers. He took a second to organize his thoughts. "I want people watching the news or anything else they can find to give us any information about these aliens. If they're right, then the aliens should be entering the atmosphere any moment."

Peter called out for one person to turn on the news to see if anything had happened yet. The screen flicked to life in time to hear a live report from a person out in the field covering a local fire. That report quickly overtaken by something in the sky followed by explosions off-screen. The reporter jumped a bit at that.

"Looks like someone is attacking us from the sound of it," Peter said.

The camera moved up, catching something moving through the sky. It looked like an unknown fighter to Peter. It fired off several rounds at some target that could not be seen from the camera. Another explosion occurred indicating the fighter hit something.

The situation began to crash down on the people in the armored bunker, realization they were not in a drill. Panic began to set in and Peter realized that he had to calm everyone down. He quickly took control of the situation, giving people whatever duty he thought of, hoping to get their mind focused on a different situation. Then he had to contact the Hermes again.

* * *

Troy received word that Peter was calling back up from their base on Earth. He was a bit relieved to hear from the man, glad to hear he was safe. The reports from Earth were not good. Millions killed and cities destroyed all over Earth. It was something that no one had seen coming.

Peter relayed that the building had probably collapsed on top of the bunker but that everyone was all right at the moment. The bunker was holding for the moment. That was the best news that Troy had heard so far. It would take a lot more to make everything better.

"Captain," Peter said gaining Troy's attention again.

"Yes Captain Peter," Troy replied wondering what the man had to say.

"There is one thing that concerns me," Peter said. "When I contacted an old friend of mine in the government, he acted unconcerned about what I had told him."

"Interesting, unconcerned as in not believing in aliens or," Troy's voice faded away letting Peter fill in the blanks.

"Unconcerned as in meeting an alien race is no big deal, regardless of what will happen," Peter said.

Bri glanced at Troy wondering if he knew something by the way he slumped back into his chair. "Anything wrong," she asked him.

"I don't know, just a vague feeling like this is important, but I don't know why," Troy said.

"It'll come," Bri said.

"Thanks captain, we'll see what we can do from up here. In the meantime keep down and out of sight. Any information you can give us will help out later," Troy said. Peter acknowledged what Troy had said as they signed off.

"The base survived for now, that's good news," Nall said from where he was speaking up for the first time. He also knew that the base had enough supplies for the members for a couple of weeks. He hoped that they had enough information to rescue them before that time ran out.

"Yeah, now we'll need more information. From all accounts it seems that they do not know that the Hermes is here. That gives us a slight advantage with the ability to scout around undetected," Troy said.

"I guess we're staying for a bit longer then," Nall said.

"Yep," Troy replied.

* * *

"Colonel, I'm moving my command to the Tiger until the Argo has completed its refit," Ares said to Pratt, walking into Ares' office. It was something that Pratt had seen coming, ever since he heard about the attack on Earth. At first Ares would be stationed on Centari One, but now everything had changed.

"All right, just remember most of the crew is from Earth, and they are still learning the systems," Pratt said. They had impressed him with how quickly they picked up the stations, probably due to their higher computer skills.

"I will," Ares said.

"Any new word from the Hermes," Pratt asked.

"Nothing yet, but I hope they remain there a bit longer. It will allow us to gather information," Ares said.

"I know, hopefully something comes along quickly. When can I expect to see you aboard the Tiger," Pratt asked.

"I'm sorta packing things up now, so hopefully in a bit," Ares replied.

"I take it that you're leaving most of your stuff here," Pratt said looking around the room.

"Yeah, just taking the basics that I need," Ares replied.

"All right," Pratt said. He knew that it would not take Ares too long to switch his command from the Argo to the Tiger. He handed Ares the remaining report of the Tiger and how operational she was then left the office. He quickly headed back to the Tiger to get her ready for the commander's arrival.

* * *

Troy stepped into the area where he and Bri were going to wait out the trip back to Centari One, before the attack on Earth started. He and Nall had gone over to talk with the new recruits that had joined up before the attack. Now they were somewhat safe aboard the Hermes, while friends and family could be dead. It was one thing Troy could understand. His family was a year away, on another planet. The one thing that he was sure of, was the planet had not been destroyed by the Cylons.

Troy's speech to the recruits had been one of the toughest he had ever given. There were many questions that he did not really have answers to. He wished that he did, but at the moment he only had the name of the aliens, Arbus.

"Captain Troy to the bridge," the intercom sounded. Troy sighed as he had just sat down next to Bri.

"There paging you dear," Bri said.

"I know," Troy said looking over to Bri, who had a sparkle in her eye. "Why is it I get nervous when you get that sparkle in you eye?"

"Who me," Bri said, putting on an innocent face.

"All right, I'll be right back," he said with a quick kiss, he hurried to the bridge. He was sure that Bri was up to something, now he just had to wait and find out.

He arrived on the bridge which had activity going on it again. He quickly found the captain who was standing next to one of the controls. Troy walked on over to where they were standing and waited a few seconds. The captain finally realized that he was standing there.

"I'm glad that you're here captain. We've picked up some strange signals and are not that sure where they are coming from," the captain of the Hermes said to Troy.

"Any idea who or what they are," Troy asked.

"Nope, just a vector, we recorded the message just in case," the captain replied.

They stood there and listened to the message again. Troy had not heard of the language before either. The only think that he could think of was it belonged to the invaders. He had the signal bearing which was in the opposite direction of the Colonies.

"This just might be the invaders," Troy said.

"That's what I was thinking," the captain said.

"Sir, new signal from Earth, in the same frequency. Sounds a lot like the same type of language as well," the officer said.

"Relay it to Centari One," Troy said.

* * *

"Commander," a female flight deck officer said as the shuttle landed on the Tiger. Ares turned and walked towards the officer who had spoken to him. "We received a communication from the Hermes while you were in transport."

Ares wondered what new type of information had been found out while he was in flight. She handed him the paper which held the information. Ares was not sure what to make of the information. The Hermes found a radio signal. From the report he read that they did not know what it said. The one thing good bit of news, they knew where the signal came from.

Ares thank the officer and walked up to the bridge where he knew Pratt would be waiting for him. Walking on the bridge he was not disappointed when he noticed Pratt standing in the middle of the bridge.

"Commander, I hope that you've received the message," Pratt asked.

"Yes I did," Ares said. "I have an idea. Whoever sent that message is probably part of the group that attacked Earth, I think we should take the Tiger and go exploring."

"Are you sure commander," Pratt asked.

"Yes, we'll leave Renee in charge of the base," Ares told him

"All right, when do you want to leave," Pratt asked.

"As soon as we can. Troy will be in charge of Earth space until we return to see about capturing any other messages. I think we find out what their capabilities really are," Ares said.

* * *

Gunther landed his viper aboard the Tiger along with several other pilots from his squad. There was also a group of recruits as well. He had the familiar feeling that he usually had when he was about to head into combat. It was a feeling that he had when he left on board the Galactica. Along with the Atlantia the two battlestars had attacked a known Cylons base.

Commander Ares had picked Gunther to lead the viper squadrons on the Tiger because he was a veteran of so many battles. He had served aboard battlestars for almost ten yehrens before volunteering for the Argo mission. Gunther had also served under Ares before. They had been in the same squadron when Gunther had graduated flight school. Now so many yeherns later he was under Ares command and about to head into an unknown battle against an unknown opponent.

Most of the squad was already aboard the Tiger when Gunther arrived. The fighters crowded the hangar of the Tiger. He knew fitting all the fighters would take some interesting parking. There were fewer launch bays for the fighters to use. The Tiger was designed to hold twenty fighters, but this would make a good test of going beyond designed specifications.

Gunther made his way to the bridge to report into the commander. He could hear Ares making the command to move out as the ship moved away from Centari One.

"Everyone on board," Ares asked.

"I was the last one," Gunther said.

"All right," Ares said. "Carry out the order to move out."

The Tiger moved out towards where the strange signals had come from. They were not sure what they were going to do when they reached the destination.

* * *

"Commander Ares to the bridge," the voice said interrupting Ares as he sat as his desk. Pratt was on the bridge taking control of everything so Ares wondered what they had found that would call him to the bridge.

Ares quickly walked up the bridge to see what was going on. Pratt was looking over the shoulder of the scanner operator. Ares walked over to him and glanced over to see what he was seeing.

"Commander," Ares said, noticing that he was standing next to him.

"What do we have," Ares asked.

"Well, it just appeared on our scanner not too long ago. The course its on means it's headed towards Earth, and that it came from the direction that the signal did," Pratt said.

"The Arbus," Ares asked.

"That's what we think," Pratt said. "Two ships, probably a supply ship and its escort."

"Possibly,"' Ares said thinking about it. Did he attack the ships without real knowledge about who they were, or did he let them continue on their way to find our more.

"We're getting another communication this one is from this ship towards Earth," Ares heard the communications officer say. They still did not know what they were saying which meant the Arbus had an advantage at the moment.

"What do you think commander," Pratt asked.

Ares glanced around at the faces that were on the bridge. Most were from Earth worried about their families. They also knew that the aliens had attacked Earth. The two ships were close in design style to the ships that had attacked Earth. He was also not sure when he would gain another moment like this to test out their weapons against the Arbus.

"Sound red alert. Negative shield now," Ares said quietly. The crew reacted immediately as the regular lighting gave way to the red glow of red alert. The shielding came down to protect any window of the Tiger from damage and now all they had were their scanner to view what was going on. "Helm, bring us closer to the target."

* * *

Gunther relaxed in the pilot debriefing room, passing time. Several others were there as well. Most were Colonial warriors, but there were a few pilots from Earth in the room. They were listening to the stories from the Colonials about engagements with the Cylons. He was about to speak up to correct another pilot when the red alert sounded.

"All right everyone, this is the real thing," Gunther said. "Grab your stuff and head to your ships."

The room emptied quickly as pilots rushed out. They were at their vipers within seconds. Gunther was climbing into his viper while a flight crew member handed his helmet to him. The bridge was giving instructions over the intercom about what they were up against. It was two ships that were possibility enemy in origin. They were being given permission to engage at will.

The order to launch was given to the pilots. Gunther pressed his thumb down on the launch button and felt the familiar pressure of the viper launching out of the launch tube. Within moments he was in space and glancing at his instruments to see where the enemy ships were.

He turned his viper towards the enemy ships as the rest of the squadron lined up behind him. They headed right towards the ships. So far there was no reaction from the ships. Gunther at first thought it was a bit surprising then realized the stealth features worked. The metal worked and the enemy ships probably did not even know the Tiger was there until the vipers launched.

"All right squad, split up. We don't know which ship is more dangerous. So until we do we will target both ships. The larger ship could be a transport but it could also be a warship," Gunther said to the squadron. They split the squad and headed towards different ships.

Gunther targeted the nearest ship, which the computer could not identify. That was something that he was sure would be rectified in no time at all once they gained more experience and intelligence against this enemy. This ship would be recorded for future reference. For now they needed to do their jobs.

* * *

On the bridge of the Tiger Ares watched as the viper squadron approached the alien ships. He ordered the Tiger in on an attack vector which would bring it into firing range of the Arbus ships.

"Commander Ares, I think you should see this," one of the scanner operators said.

Ares walked on over to see for himself what was going on. He glanced at the scanner and wondered if the scanners were malfunctioning in some way.

"Are the scanners malfunctioning in some way," he asked quickly.

"No commander," the operator said quickly. He had already done a systems check to make sure about that.

"Get me Gunther, now," Ares said.

* * *

Gunther lining up for his first pass though on the Arbus ships when he heard Ares calling for him.

"Green leader here," Gunther said, waiting to see what Ares had to say.

"Gunther, don't open fire on the larger ship," Ares said. "We have reasons to believe that there are humans aboard the ship."

"Humans, are you sure commander," Gunther asked wanting to make sure.

"Yes, concentrate you fire on the smaller ship, there are not humans aboard that one, but try to disable the larger one if you can," Ares said.

"I copy commander," Gunther said. "All right squad, concentrate on the smaller ship for now," he said to the rest of the squad. They all switched their targets to the smaller vessel which did not take long to open fire at them.

The vipers began their strafing runs on the Arbus ships. The Arbus vessels returned fire with green lasers. The air was criss-crossed with red and green laser fire as both sides engaged each other. Gunther ordered his group to aim for the weapon systems of the Arbus ship.

* * *

Ares stood in the middle of the bridge watching what was going on. He wanted to make sure that his ships would not be outclassed when they started to engaged once the enemy ships. He did not need the Tiger damaged or, worse, destroyed.

The communications picked up a message from one of the two Arbus ships. Ares guessed that it was a communication indicating that they were under attack to any nearby ships. He would have to work fast to make sure that they were victorious in this battle without being overwhelmed.

"How are the vipers doing against the enemy ships," Ares asked.

"Scanners indicate that there is damage to the smaller ship. The larger ship appears to only have limited weapon abilities," the reply came making him a bit glad for that.

"Bring us in," Ares ordered almost feeling the ship turn into the battle.

The Tiger closed to attack range with still nothing from the enemy ships. Ares waited until they were closer before opening fire on the enemy ships. The main weapons of the Tiger were standing by waiting with the gunners just waiting to open fire.

"Open fire," Ares finally ordered.

The two massive main lasers in the bow of the ship opened up on the smaller enemy ship, striking the ship on the first shot. Ares turned curious about the damage the hit caused.

"Reading damage to the smaller ship, receiving return fire," the scanner operator said. "It's a bit erratic kind of like they cannot lock onto our ship."

"Good, continue firing on the smaller ship," Ares said, as the main guns opened fire again. He knew that this would be the true test as to how well their weapons did against the enemy warship. If they fared well against them in this battle then they just might be able to win this war. This was a war and it actually made Ares feel a bit better. He knew warfare better than he did diplomacy. He also had a feeling that it might just help him in his real mission.

The Tiger continued to fire on the smaller ship. Ares wondered how much damage it would take before it would finally succumb. He was just thinking about that when the smaller ship exploded in a ball of flame.

"Open a hailing frequency to the remaining ship," Ares said. It did not take long before the channel was open. "Arbus ship, this is Commander Ares of the Colonial warship Tiger, you are ordered to surrender."

A few of the crew members looked over at the phrase 'Colonial warship'. It was a last second decision he made. He decided not to mention they were from Earth, hoping to give them an advantage. After a few seconds he glanced at over, watching the communications officer shrug. Ares was not sure how long it would take to receive a reply or not. So far they had received nothing.

"I'm picking up increased energy on board the ship," Ares heard Pratt say from the command console. "I think they are planning to self destruct."

"Can we stop it," Ares asked quickly.

"Don't think so commander," Pratt said.

"Positive shield now," Ares said, he wanted to watch. They looked out of the window at the Arbus ship. At first nothing appeared wrong with the ship. Then came the first sign of an impending explosion. Part of the hull of the ship failed as an internal explosion occurred making flame leap out into space for a brief moment. It was quickly followed by several more than a last large explosion that wiped out the rest of the ship.

"Recall all vipers," Ares said quietly.

* * *

Gunther relayed the recall orders to the rest of his squadron. He mentally went over how many had survived. They had lost two vipers in the engagement which made him glad. He was sad about the 'transport' ship which also self destructed. He wondered why the ARbus had done such a thing. It would be a mystery that they would need to solve during the war he hoped.

He turned his viper towards the Tiger which had turned on the signal enhancer. He finally spotted the ship and waited to hear the landing instructions. He was sure that there was going to be a debriefing over this. His squad had not attacked the transport ship at all so he figured that damaged from the battle had been ruled out.

He concentrated for a few moments while he landed on the Tiger's landing bay. The landing rotation when by how much fuel or damage a viper had not on rank. He landed, waited a few moments until the landing crew moved his viper so the next viper could land.

Gunther got out and made his way up to the bridge where he knew Ares would be. Walking onto the bridge he spotted the commander talking with Pratt.

"Gunther, glad you made it," Ares said spotting him walking towards them. "Did you notice anything unusual in the engagement?"

"If you mean aside from the suicide attitude they had at the end, not really," Gunther said. "The weapon systems of then I guess the escort seemed equal to a frigate."

"That's what we were just discussing," Ares said. "We'll need to categorize these ships for later on, if we see them again."

"If you're asking me, a transport and an escort ship," Gunther said.

"That's what I said," Pratt said.

"Then I guess we'll go with that for now," Ares said. "I just wish we had been able to save those lives on board that ship."

"That might be something to keep in mind for later on," Pratt said. "They have shown a willingness to blow themselves up. They might use it to lure some of us on board and then blow it up next time."

"That will be another thought then," Ares said. He was having a lot to think about. He was informed that all fighters were now back on board.

"Set course to Centari One," Ares said. They had a lot of thinking to do.

End of Tiger Attack

Continued in Decisions Made


	26. Chapter 26: Decisions Made

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Decisions Made**

Troy walked up to the bridge where Nall and the captain of the Hermes were keeping watch over what was going on. Not long ago there had been a message that had arrived. It had sent two Arbus ships racing out of Earth's solar system. No one knew what happened yet, but they were sure that the news had not been good.

They were still waiting on a report from the planet's surface to find out what had happened to the base. The last they had heard was Peter and his group had made it down into the shelter. Troy understood that the less he communicated from the surface the less chance they had of being intercepted. That might come in handy later on.

There was still a lot to do. The Tiger left, heading in the same direction the signals came from. Troy hoped they would hear from the Tiger soon. The Hermes supplies were running a bit low so they would have to leave Earth's space soon. The ship had not been stocked for a long mission like the one it was on now.

Troy wondered if he should order the ship to go back to Centari One. He did not want to leave with Peter still in an unknown situation and have a radio trail back to the base which they would be able to follow. There was a lot which they had to decide if they were going to get involved in this war. That was the one decision that he was sure had already been made. They would help out the people of Earth.

"Have we received anything from Earth," Troy asked, hoping that they had.

"Nope," Nall replied. He did not like that at all. The one thing that Nall was glad of was that Rebecca, Troy and Bri were all off the planet and he knew that they were safe.

"Not good," Troy replied. "I don't know how much longer our supplies will last."

"Aye, that's the one thing that worries me," the captain said.

"I think we're going to have to start thinking about heading back to Centari One," Troy said.

"I've been thinking about that. We could head out then let the base know that we're coming so they would be ready when we arrive. We could be there and back in less than a day," the captain said.

Troy thought about it. The time sure did seem short yet it was also a long time to be gone. So much could happen in that amount of time. He could not order the Argo out here as the battlestar would be spotted right away. He still was not sure that the Hermes had not been spotted. He hoped that they would hear from the planet's surface soon so that he could tell Peter to maintain radio silence for most of the time.

* * *

Peter looked over the group that had made it into the shelter. The number seemed smaller than normal for him. He was sure that they should have had more people in the bunker. He made his way over to where several others were standing.

"Do either of you know how many did not make it," Peter asked them.

"No," they both replied.

"All right then. I want both of you to try to figure out how many didn't make it," Peter said to them, then turned to another person. "You're in charge of gaining information from any news channel that may still be operating. You two check the supplies to see what we have and how many people are down here."

The group of people who had been just standing around suddenly found themselves at work. Peter walked over to the communications area himself to see if he could find anything out that he could report back. He was still concerned about the way his friend in the government had brushed him off.

"There's not much still operating now," one of them said to Peter, as he got close enough.

"What is operating," Peter asked.

"We're only able to find one channel at the moment," the reply came making Peter look at the screen. There was a reporter looking scared by everything that had happened. Peter then concentrated on what the reporter was saying.

"For those of you who can still hear us, we are not sure what happened anymore. There are many rumors from all out annihilation to an alien attack. At the moment it seems that there is more credibility in an alien attack than anything else," the reporter said. "There were reports from all over the world of the same type of craft attacking cities. If this is true then humanity's answer to the question, is life out in the universe has been answered. Yes, but now we ask the question, what do they want? Why are they here?"

"Why indeed," Peter asked himself. This was the question that he was sure everyone was asking themselves.

They listened a bit longer to what the reporter was saying. It appeared that most cities were in ruins from the attack. The military organizations of the world were also in shambles having taken massive losses. To Peter it seemed like they knew exactly where to hit. That piece of information did not hold well with him either.

"Do we still have a link with the Hermes," Peter finally asked.

"Yes," the reply came.

"Put me though," Peter said.

* * *

"Commander," Pratt said, as he looked at his scanner.

Ares glanced up from what he was doing and walked over to the command chair.

"Take a look," Pratt said.

"Well that answer this question," Ares said, seeing the two vessels on the edge of the scanner. "Helm plot a course around the incoming ships, then head for Centari One."

"Yes sir," the helm officer said, turning back to the controls to bring the ship around and head back to Centari One.

"It appears that we gained some attention," Ares said.

"Yep," Pratt replied. "Their course indicates that they are from Earth."

"Hmm, gives me an idea, put me through to the Hermes," Ares said. He was also hoping that they had some new information for him.

Ares did not have to wait long before the captain of the Hermes appeared on the screen. He could see behind him Troy was also there.

"Commander Ares, good to hear from you," the captain of the Hermes said.

"We intercepted a couple of unknown vessels that we think were Arbus vessels," Ares said.

"That may be why two ships suddenly left Earth's orbit," Troy said. "Was the engagement that long ago?"

"No, we're just finishing up the mop of the engagement," Ares replied. You have answered a question though."

"Really," Troy said not sure what answer he might have provided.

"Yeah, whatever the ship was carrying it was important," Ares said. Now he really wished that he had been able to gain a bit more information about what the ship was carrying. The only thing that they really knew was that there were humans aboard the ship. The question now became why were there humans aboard and what purpose did they serve.

"I was about to head back to Centari One," Troy said. "Our supplies are running a bit low."

"Good idea, any word lately from the base on Earth," Ares asked.

"No, not since the last transmission," Troy said.

"Very well, begin to head back to the base, we'll resupply the ship and make new plans," Ares said.

Troy signed off leaving Ares and Pratt to think about what Troy had just said. There was something going on that they were missing, but what. Ares had the feeling that a lot of information was missing. He would have to have intelligence work on the intercepted messages to see if they could tell what they were saying.

* * *

Troy turned to the captain when the communications officer reported that another message was coming in. Troy turned around hoping that it would be Peter. He watched as the man's face appeared on the screen in front of him.

"I'm glad to see you," Troy said.

"We're surviving if that's what you mean," Peter said. "I'm keeping everyone busy for now but I'm not sure how long that's going to work."

"Understand," Troy said. "We don't have many supplies right now, but I think Commander Ares is working on a plan to free Earth."

"That would be nice," Peter said. "No one down here really knows what is going on. The reports are nothing more than rumors swirling around."

"Not good," Troy said.

"No, but the biggest rumor is that we've been attacked by an alien race," Peter said.

"Well it seems that maybe they got it right," Troy said. "Have you heard anything from any of the governments?"

"No, from what I've heard they attacked the capitals first. None of the governments appear working at the moment," Peter said.

"I'm going take the Hermes back to refuel, then I'll be back," Troy said. "Next time we'll be able to stay longer."

"I understand," Peter said. The Hermes was, at best a transport, and usually only stocked for the short distance that it would take to head back and forth to Centari One. That also made Peter think. Troy had not mentioned Centari One. "Captain, is the base in danger?"

"No, but its more for security purposes. I don't know if someone is listening to this," Troy said.

"Right," Peter said. "We should end this conversation then. I'll try back tomorrow at this time, or the next day at the same time."

"Good, we'll be listening," Troy said as the communication line went dead.

"Helm, set course for Centari One," the captain said to his crew.

* * *

Ares sat back in his chair as he thought about what had happened in the last little while. Earth invaded by an enemy they did not know for reasons they still did not understand. Now he had a feeling that his mission would change from preparing Earth to saving Earth. Would it make a difference in the long run in the war against the Cylons?

"Agh," Ares silently muttered gaining a look from Pratt who had a questioning look on his face. "Nothing, just doing too much thinking," Ares told him.

"Ah, yeah," Pratt said. "I hear too much of that can cause unwanted side effects."

Ares chuckled at that. "Yeah, like making a decision based on facts. No, I was trying to figure it all out, that and what was I going to tell Robert and Sam."

"I don't envy you there," Pratt said. "We should make it back before the Hermes leaves again for Earth."

"Good, what is the word on the Argo," Ares asked.

"They're speeding up work on her," Pratt replied.

"Good," Ares said. He really wished that he had his battlestar back. He would definitely feel better with the battlestar in the fleet again. He felt handicapped at the moment. He would have to make do with the Tiger and the Hermes at the moment. He guessed that he would figure out what to tell everyone once they got back to Centari One.

There were still about a million questions going on in his head. Who were the Arbus, what did they want and why did they attack earth? Those questions were just a few among many. The one thing that he really hoped for was that the Arbus would not be technology superior to them. That would not be a good thing for any of them.

Ares sat back in his chair as the Tiger made its way back to Centari One. There was a lot of work to do and no time to do it all in.

* * *

Troy and the rest of the group made their way on board the shuttle. Behind him were Bri, Nall and Jax. The Tiger was just scheduled to arrive and they were heading down to the planet's surface for the debriefing. He and Bri had taken the trip time to take a nap and rest. He was not sure what to expect once the debriefing began.

There was already a steady stream of shuttles to the Hermes. The ship would head back to Earth in the next couple of hours. He sat down with Bri sitting next to him.

"I wonder if Commander Ares found out anything," Nall said out loud. It was a question that they were all asking themselves.

"Don't know," Troy replied. "This will be a different war that's for sure."

"What do you mean," Bri asked.

"Think about it," Troy said. "We're used to war, but against an enemy that wants our extermination. This enemy seems a bit different. They are conquering worlds."

"Yeah, that is a bit different," Bri said.

"Now we just have to figure out their angle," Troy said briefly aware that others were listening to their conversation. "We know that they are not the Cylons, nor does it appear that they are with the Cylons."

"I think you're right there," Nall said. "Completely different direction. But that leaves us with who are they and what do they want?"

"Exactly," Troy said.

"I wonder if our weapon systems will be a match for theirs," Jax said, bringing up a question critical in the upcoming battles.

"I think Commander Ares has a better idea if they are or not," Troy said.

The shuttle landed allowing the group to leave. They had heard that the Tiger had just arrived so they knew that the meeting would be held soon. They headed toward the meeting room.

"Hey Becca," Nall said as Rebecca found them. She was with Sam and Robert who were waiting as well. Rebecca walked over and hugged Nall who returned the gesture.

"What happened," Rebecca asked. She had heard several reports and none of them were good.

"Well, it seems that the Earth was attacked by a group called the Arbus," Troy said loud enough so that Robert and Sam could hear him. They did not seem that surprised to hear that. "Aside from that we don't know that much."

"I heard that they tried to contact the governments," Sam said.

"Peter said he tried, but they ignored his warning," Troy said.

"Hmm, I don't like that," Sam said as he thought about it. To him something did not seem right about it all. He had a lot of trouble believing that the government would do nothing about an impending alien contact.

"Any ideas senator," Troy said seeing the concentrating look on the man's face.

"No, it doesn't make much sense to me though," Sam said.

It was another puzzle that they would have to try to decipher if they were to better understand their enemy.

* * *

Ares walked into the meeting room packed with people. He recognized many of the faces in the group. They were people that he had served with aboard the Argo and had learned to trust here on Centari One.

"Thank you all for coming," Ares said as Pratt stood off to the side. "We received word about a day ago that the Earth came under attack by a group calling themselves the Arbus."

A low mummer went across the room. Almost everyone knew that something had happened on Earth, but the name of the race that had attacked them was not widely known.

"The crew of the Hermes had noticed strange scanner contacts. On the last flight to Earth they did a bit more investigating. They found a large base along with six ships. At the time they did not know what they were," Ares said to the group. "It turned out to be warships. The warships then attacked Earth while the Hermes was still close by. Our commander on Earth fled to the shelters during the attack. He also tried to get in touch with the governments of Earth. When he warned them, they told him to ignore it."

That comment created a stir. People did not think that their governments would do such a thing. They had a military but the thought that the government would not raise a finger to stop this was unsettling to most of them.

"During the invasion we intercepted a message going away from the planet. I took command of the Tiger and, with additional fighters, went in search of the receiver. We ran across two ships, and engaged the ships only to find out that one had a large group of humans on board. The other ship did not have any. We assumed that the ship loaded with humans was a transport ship while the other was an escort of some sort," Ares told the group. "With the escort destroyed, we then tried to board the transport which the crew activated the self destruct."

Troy's eyebrows rose at that statement. It was something that he was not expecting to hear. He really had hoped that they had been able to find out what the ship was carrying and who they were carrying. He was saddened by the loss of life on board the ships. He was glad that it appeared that their weapons would be a match for the Arbus' weapons.

"You all know as much as I do. I now that this fight isn't the Colonials fight so I ask all of you what your decision is. What course of action do we want to take," Ares said.

"Take us back to the colonies. We would be able to arm ourselves and come back even stronger and rid Earth of the Arbus," one man said. Ares recognized him as one of the volunteers from Earth.

"Fight them now," another person said.

"No, build up here then fight them," still another said.

Sam stood up and walked over to where Ares was standing. There was a big decision to be made and already several opinions had been expressed.

"I have to strike going to the Colonies," Sam said. "It is an illogical decision. It would be at least three years before we would even be able to return."

"If we did at all, remember that the Colonies are already at war with the Cylons. We cannot afford any resources to help Earth out at the moment," Ares said. It was a truth that only the Colonial warriors knew. The war was beginning to tilt in favor of the Cylons and it was only a matter of time before they would have the full advantage unless something drastic was done. That was why the Argo was sent on this mission.

"But they do have the military power to expel the Arbus from Earth," the man said.

"The cost though would be enormous. Billions could die at the hands of the Cylons if such an expedition was undertaken," Ares said. "It is something that we really cannot afford right now."

"But our lives are expendable," the man said.

"The Arbus do not seem to be exterminating you, the Cylons would without mercy, every last man woman and child," Troy said.

"Yeah right," the man said.

"My family was killed by the Cylons, I'm the only one left of my family," Bri said suddenly, standing up to her full height and staring at the man. Anger pulsed off her and Troy was glad that he was not the man she was mad at. "If the Cylons attacked Earth they would not have stopped until every last one of you were dead."

The man rolled his eyes but backed down. Bri slowly sat down, but Troy could tell that she was still angry. He would have to find out why she was so mad later on. He glanced at Nall who only shrugged his shoulders at him. It would be something that would have to wait until later.

* * *

Sam stood by Commander Ares as people began talking about what they should do. Aside from a few who wanted to head to the colonies most seemed to understand the obstacles that such an endeavor would experience. He wanted to get an agreement on what they should do. He really wanted some time to talk it over with Ares but knew that now there was no time for that.

Several different ideas came forward, each with support. There was one group, who wanted to rush in and retake Earth. Another group wanted to wait until they had more resources to battle the Arbus. Sam could see both sides of each argument. There was a part of him that wanted revenge right now. Then another part of him knew that they did not have the resources to fight such a battle. There was also others in the crowd who did not want them to do anything.

"Commander Ares, I think we should take these suggestions seriously. It seems like there are three main groups of thought," Sam said turning to Ares.

"Agreed," Ares said. "One group wants action now, another wants to build up and another doesn't want to do anything. Regardless of what we decide, I'm sending the Hermes to Earth to continue surveillance, hopefully we can gain some new information. Also I want to see if we can make contact with the base on Earth."

"It might be best to wait for more information on the Arbus before doing anything else," Sam said.

"I think so. Rushing in to help out Earth might destroy any chance we have of freeing Earth. But if we wait too long then we might do irreparable harm instead," Ares said.

"A fine line we must walk then," Sam said.

Everyone in the room was listening to the discussion waiting a bit to see what would be decided. So far the course of action seemed to please most people. Most who wanted action now knew that information would help while those who wanted to wait had a bit more time before something happened.

"Contact the Hermes and tell them to more out once Gunther has gone aboard," Ares said. "For now we must continue to train our people for when we do attack."

* * *

Troy sat back listening to what Commander Ares and the senator were saying. There were two options that he was not comfortable with. One was going to the Colonies for help and the other one was doing nothing. He was glad that going to the Colonies was not really being considered by any of the leaders. It also seemed that doing nothing was also not being considered. Troy figured that the best option was the wait and see what to do option.

Troy heard that Gunther was heading to Earth on the Hermes. That meant that he, Bri and Nall would probably take over on training the new pilots. That was not going to be that bad. They would need pilots and warriors for the future battles they all knew would happen.

Gunther got up and walked out of the room heading towards the shuttle bay to head up to the Hermes. Troy also knew that one of them would be taking over command of the viper squadron on board the Tiger. They had a lot of work that they all needed to do. He just hoped that they had the time to do what they needed to do.

The meeting broke up and Troy felt a nudge on his arm. Turning to look at Bri she suggested that they grab a bit to eat. Jax, Rebecca, and Nall joined them. Troy felt a bit better in knowing that at least something had been done. They would scout out and see what they could find out.

"You okay," Bri whispered to him as they walked out of the room.

"Mostly," Troy replied. "I'd feel better if we had more information than we had."

"I think we all would," Nall said, getting an agreement from Jax.

"Let's hope that the Hermes has some success in their mission," Jax said.

"I'm hungry," Bri said as her stomach chose that moment to growl.

"All right, come on and let's feed you," Troy said with a slight chuckle as the group headed towards the cafeteria. There they could talk some more and perhaps Bri and Troy could tell the others how their vacation went.

End of Decisions Made

Continued in Movement


	27. Chapter 27: Movement

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Movement**

Gunther waited as the Hermes settled into an orbit around the moon near Earth. They figured that it was probably the best spot to watch Earth from. There was a lot that they still had to find out about the Arbus. The aliens had not done much else from what they could tell of Earth. There was still a few faint news programs running but there were more independent operators talking back and forth than anything else.

"Ah, captain Gunther good to see you on the bridge," a voice said from behind him.

"Captain Scott," Gunther said to the captain of the Hermes with a slight head nod in the man's direction.

"Aye, it's a terrible sight my lad," the man said. "I never figured that I see the day my home world was invaded," he said shaking his head.

"Did you have any family," Gunther asked.

"No lad, was married to the sea for many years. Was a fishing captain until just a few seasons ago," Scott said. A whopper of a storm came up and she took me boat to Davy Jones Locker."

Gunther frowned a bit at that wording. He had not heard anyone describe anything the way this captain had.

"She sank lad," Scott said.

"Sorry to hear it," Gunther said.

"Aye, she was a beautiful ship she was," Scott said. "Ye could feel the sea breeze on your face and the rocking of the ship under yer feet. Somedays I miss it."

"Maybe you'll get another chance one day," Gunther said.

"Perhaps, perhaps," Scott said. The universe he was discovering was a strange place with a mind of its own. He was just glad to be useful again.

The scanner operators would keep an eye out for anything that was a bit unusual and notify them. With little else to do the two men sat down to listen to the reports that were coming in from the surface while they waited for Peter to report in. They just hoped that the man did.

* * *

Troy and Bri walked into the room where they were to meet up with the new pilots. They were the group that had come aboard the Hermes just before the attack on Earth. Their emotions were still mixed up. Many had families back on Earth that they did not know if they were alive or not. Troy had a feeling those emotions might come into play.

"All right, listen up," he said to the group. "I know many of you are worried about your loved ones, but if we do our job then we hopefully see them again. I know that a lot of this is a shock to you, it's a shock to us as well. I will tell you from experience that doing you job will benefit them more than anything else right now. We're going to strike back, but we need patience."

"Easy for you to say," one of them said.

"Actually it isn't," Troy replied. "I have a father, mother and sister back at home, which is a year of traveling away. I don't know if they are alive or not. If a massive attack occurred back at my home then I would not know about my family for at least a year, consider yourself lucky."

Bri watched as the room went quiet as they absorbed that. They all knew that a strike back would occur before the year was over. She almost felt sorry for Troy at times. His life had changed so much. She also wished that she could meet her in-laws. She had not had a true family since she was four. She pushed those thoughts aside for now and brought her mind back to what was at hand.

They were giving the group the basics of flying a viper. There were several simulators set up to give a safe environment to learn how to control a viper. Aside from a few G's that the dampeners did not cancel there was almost no difference in what they saw.

Troy watched as the group went thought the first training system. It was a basic flight control system. The first thing that the new pilots had to do was learn how to fly the ships. The simulators were a great way to have them learn without endangering anyone's lives. He could still remember his first live flight. He had trained on the simulator so long that it felt just the same.

He glanced over at Bri who was studying the readouts of the flight performance of the group. A thought came to him that they might not have any more replacements for a while now. That was something that they would have to fix if they wanted to build up their fleet to free Earth.

The simulator finished up with Bri and Troy taking the results to another room to look over. The rest of the recruits waited in the room to see how they did.

* * *

Peter waited a few more minutes. The last day had been a bit harrowing to say the least. They had reports of armed troopers on the ground taking control over several large population centers that were still functioning. There was still a lot that puzzled him but it appeared that much of the military was ineffective. Peter was not sure why the military was ineffective but sure wanted to find out.

"Sir, my sister is in the military not far from here. If I get in and out I might be able to find out what is going on," a young woman kept saying to him.

Peter weighed the advantages against the disadvantages. If someone captured her then she might give away this location. But he also needed information. He finally made up his mind.

"Al right Tammy, you can go, but be very careful. I don't think that they realize that we're here at the moment," Peter said to him.

"I will," Tammy said then walked over to where the door was to begin her small mission.

"Tammy, if you're not back in two days we might not let you back in," Peter said.

Tammy nodded her head in understanding. The military base was only a few hours walk away so if she was gone too long they would know that something might have happened.

Peter turned back to the communication station. He flipped a switch to see if the Hermes was nearby to get a transmission to yet. It would be good to hear from someone friendly that was for sure.

* * *

"Captain Scott, incoming transmission from Earth," the communications officer said.

"That's good news today," Scott said walking over to the communicator. "Get that lad, Gunther, up here. I'm sure he'll want to hear this," he said as the communicator came to life. "Peter, how be ye?"

"I've been better that's for sure," Peter replied.

Gunther walked onto the bridge and quickly made his way over to where the captain was. He hoped that he had not missed anything important. From the looks of it he thought that Peter had just called.

"Captain Gunther," Peter said. "I'm glad to see your faces that's for sure."

"Why, something going on," Gunther said as Scott listened in closely.

"It seems like the Arbus are invading the planet now," Peter said. "I've gotten reports that they are trying to take over the remaining population centers."

"Interesting," Gunther said. "I thought that they destroyed most of the population centers?"

"A few of the smaller large cities were not destroyed, damaged yet but not destroyed," Peter said. "The military is putting up very little resistance."

Gunther's eyebrows went up at that comment. That was not something that he had expected to hear. "Any good news that you can report," Gunther asked.

"I've got a person heading towards the local military base. Her sister is stationed there, and I'm hoping that she finds something out," Peter said.

"All right, report back when you have that report, and Peter, it is good to know that you're still there," Gunther said.

"I will," Peter said as they signed off.

"The news doesn't sound good laddie," Scott said.

"Nope, it isn't," Gunther said knowing that he had to make a report to Commander Ares.

"Hey, what if we take this here ship and go see if we can find that station again," Scott said. "There might be something going on there that we can see."

"Hmm, not a bad idea, especially seeing how some of the attacking ships are missing," Gunther said. "I'll make a report to the commander while you do that."

"Sounds good laddie," Scott said turning to the crew and gave out the order to head out.

* * *

Ares sat at his command station on board the Tiger. He had just received the latest report from Gunther at Earth. So far there was not a lot going on. The latest report was that the Earth military was not seriously fighting back which did not make much sense to him. He had the feeling that something else was going on.

Ares had sent the report to the senator along with Robert. They were both important in what would happen with the Earth if they ever managed to free it from the Arbus.

"Commander," Troy's voice said breaking though what he was thinking about.

"Captain Troy, what can I do for you," Ares said seeing the young man.

"Well I was just reporting in on the new pilots," Troy said.

"Ah, how are they doing," Ares said leaning back to listening to the report of Troy.

"They appear to learn fast," Troy said. "Most passed the first couple of flying lessons on the simulators."

"Hmm, not surprising seeing how many were former pilots back on Earth. A few even have military experience as well," Ares said having reviewed the preliminary reports before they began their training.

"Yeah, but even the ones without any flying experience are doing good," Troy said. "Well ahead of schedule."

"Perhaps they have a good motivator," Ares said. "Being attacked is a good motivator for a lot of people."

"I suppose so," Troy said. "I guess it helped us out as well. There were times that I know my mom wished that the war was over. I don't think that there will ever be peace with the Cylons."

"No, but these Arbus are different. It will take a bit of time to learn what they are fighting for," Ares said.

"True," Troy said.

"You haven't seen anything that might help," Ares said.

"No, just a lot of jumbled things from the first vision. There is one where someone is standing in a large room, or cavern and there are hundreds of cylinders. It seemed like humans were in them," Troy said.

"Interesting," Ares said. "Could they be prisoners or food or something?"

"I don't know," Troy said. "It's just like a picture and nothing else."

"Well whatever it is, we'll figure it out when it comes up," Ares said. "In the mean time keep up the good work."

"I will sir," Troy said. "Any news from Earth?"

"Gunther reported back in. It seems like the Earth military isn't fighting back as much as Peter thought it would be," Ares said.

"That's surprising," Troy said. "I would have thought that they would be fighting."

"That's what I thought as well," Ares said. "He does have someone going to investigate it."

"Maybe we'll find out something that can help us out," Troy said.

"I hope so as well," Ares said.

* * *

Troy made his way from the bridge over to where the cafeteria was on board the Tiger. His wife was saying that she was hungry and to meet him there. He walked in not surprised to see Nall and Rebecca also with her. As he walked over to where they were sitting he wondered what type of trouble Nall was going to get into this time. He had known him for almost two years now and Bri could still invent new ways to get back at Nall.

"Hey, what did I miss," Troy said sitting down.

"Nothing much," Nall said. "Bri was just telling us what was new."

"Ah, I just came from the bridge," Troy replied.

"Any news," Rebecca asked.

"Nothing much, just that for some reason the military isn't really fighting back. Don't have much information beyond that," Troy replied.

Rebecca looked a bit confused at that statement. She was sure that the military would be fighting back against this new threat. Perhaps they were waiting to strike back. She voiced that thought out loud to the rest of the group

"Could be," Troy said thinking about it. "It just might be the break we are waiting for as well. But I think we'll find out after Peter reports back. He has someone working on that question."

"Seems to me that a lot of questions that need answering before anything happens," Nall said, who Troy agreed with. "Questions like how about a threesome," he said looking over to Bri then Rebecca. Rebecca rolled her eyes at Nall's comments.

"You couldn't handle me, what makes you think you could handle two women," Bri said with a smirk, making Rebecca choke on the drink she had just taken.

"You know, being married sure has changed you," Nall said, after getting over his shock at Bri's response. "You used to get all embarrassed if I mentioned sex in any way."

"I found my tree," Bri said with a wink at Troy, who suddenly found a lot of interest in the drink he was holding.

"Hey we could make it a foursome then," Nall said not missing a beat. I'm sure Jax wouldn't mind."

Rebecca just shook her head as suddenly Nall jumped with a sharp yelp. Both Rebecca and Troy realized that Bri had kicked him.

"Baby, she kicked me," Nall said giving her puppy eyes.

"You're just lucky I couldn't reach higher," Bri said. "Not a word," she quickly said pointing to Nall.

Things were back to normal Troy thought to himself. He leaned back and took a bite of his sandwich listening to the normal banter between the two of them.

* * *

Pratt wondered around the bridge of the Tiger. He would glance over at the shipyard towards the Argo. He could see the glint of metal and the small workers that were scrambling around the hull to place the new stealth covering over the ship. They were working around the clock to get the ship done. It would sure make him feel better to have the battlestar operational again.

Next to the Argo he could see the shape of a new destroyer class warship under construction. The general idea was to build smaller ships at the moment. They were not sure how long it would take to build a large complex warship like the Argo. They called the latest class, the Cheetah. They were naming the ships after animals on Earth.

"Commander Pratt," Renee said gaining Pratt's attention. He quickly looked around the bridge for Ares until he realized that he was the one she was talking to. He now held the rank of commander, to take over command of the Tiger.

"Renee, what do you have," he asked her, walking over to where she was sitting.

"Communication coming in from the Hermes," she said.

"Put it though," he said walking up to the command chair. "Get Commander Ares up here as well."

The picture came on showing Captain Scott and Gunther on the screen.

"What have you heard," Pratt asked.

"Nothing good sir," Gunther said. "We got a report back from Peter. For some reason the Earth military commanders are unwilling to engage the Arbus."

"What," Ares said having just arrived. He was already on his way to the bridge when the call came in to him.

"Tammy, one of Peter's crew has a sister in the Earth military. She says that her superiors are unwilling to order any engagements. Many in the military are feeling that they should leave the military to organize their own counter-offensive," Gunther said.

"Hmm, I don't like this," Ares said. "Is there any reason given about why their superiors are unwilling to fight back?"

"No, that's what is making things worse for them. There is no counter-strike," Gunther said.

Ares could imagine the frustration that such leadership might cause. It was something that he was trying to avoid. He wanted to make sure that the people knew that he was going to be doing something.

"This sound very unusual," Pratt said. He was hoping that something else would be the reason for the Earth military's reluctance to engage in combat.

"Yes it does," Ares said. "Call a meeting of all deck commanders and flight leaders. Also make sure that Robert and Senator Sam are there are well. Is there anything else that we should know?"

"No, but I have a feeling that if something doesn't happen soon then It might be too late," Gunther said.

"All right, I'll take that under advisement," Ares said as the conversation ended. He and Pratt both walked off the bridge heading to the meeting room.

* * *

Troy and Bri were headed back to their quarters when they received the message to head to the meeting room. Neither of them knew what this was going to be about. They had heard nothing recently and could only conclude that the commander had heard something from Earth.

Walking into the room they noticed that Nall was already in the room. The senator along with Robert was also there. The group did not have to wait much longer until Commander Ares walked in along with Pratt. Troy looked around and noticed that the room was full. Now he really was curious about what the commander wanted.

"Thank you all for coming on such short notice. I wanted each of you kept abreast of the situation," Ares said to the group. "It appears that the Earth military organizations for whatever reason are not fighting back."

That comment got everyone a bit restless along with a quiet murmur or talking as people realized what he had just said. There was something definitely going on.

"I think we can use this to our advantage if we plan it right," Ares told the group. "I've already asked the construction crew working on the Argo to see if they can speed up their refit. It will take till the end of the week, but it we're ahead of schedule."

Troy glanced at Bri as they thought the same thing. It meant that their own training schedule would accelerate as well. He just hoped that they would be ready when the commander needed them.

"Our base on Earth has talked with people in the military and I think we can achieve a surprise counter strike in the next week or so. With coordination with Earth military forces, we can free Earth. The problem is not freeing the planet its keeping it free," Ares said. "With only a battlestar and a gunstar it will not be easy, especially since we do not know the strength of the Arbus forces."

"We'll need to take out the Arbus station nearby," Troy said speaking up from where he was sitting.

"Yes, along with at least six of their warships," Ares said. "I never said that it would be easy though. It is something that needs to be done however."

That was something that they all agreed on. It would be the first offensive of the young war by the humans. No one could really guess how the new attack would go.

* * *

Peter walked around the small underground compound. So far he had done a lot in such a small time. Tammy had gotten in touch with her sister a couple of times to tell her what they were thinking and what was going on. The strange thing was the commanders further up in the command were either reluctant to do anything or did not want to do anything.

He was glad to hear that Tammy's sister was able to coordinate with several other units in the military to go with the coming assault by the Argo and Tiger. Tammy came walking into the room after her latest outing.

"What's the news," Peter asked.

"Well, my sister says that she can confirm people ready to go in several countries. It's weird," she said with a small shake of her head. "I watched the commander of the base walk though a couple of rooms. It was almost like he was seeing who was still there and who was not."

"Strange indeed," Peter said.

"I did hear of a couple of skirmishes in town. I was able to get some information about what happened. Seems like a couple of ex-police officers attacked an Arbus group. Both men were killed, but they did injure a few Arbus, maybe even killed one of them," Tammy said.

"Well, at least we know that our weapons will work," Peter said. He had heard of several reports on the news of attacks by small groups but nothing coordinated yet.

"The officials are still doing nothing," Tammy asked.

"Nope, they are pressing for talks with the Arbus, but I don't know, I don't think that they are talking to each other," Peter replied.

"People are living and hiding in groups, the Arbus haven't attacked the military bases that have been left this entire thing doesn't make sense," Tammy said.

"I know," Peter said. Nothing made any sense in this attack. The first invasion destroyed a lot of cities, now it seemed like everyone was just avoiding each other. Something had to give but what.

* * *

Scott and Gunther were relaxing on the bridge watching for anything that might happen. They had scouted the station that was nearby. There were four ships at the station while two orbited Earth. So far Gunther hoped that they had not picked up the Hermes on their scanners. He had toyed with the idea of going down to Earth on one of the shuttles to see what was going on. Scott had argued against it at the moment. He was not sure that such a risk was worth it with Peter still reporting in.

Gunther had relented in his argument, if they were spotted then it might give away what they were planning. That was something that he did not want to do. The latest report had the Argo at over seventy-five percent done. That meant that the attack might happen in the next couple of days.

"Incoming ship, repeat incoming ship," the scanner operator said, taking Gunther's mind of what he was thinking.

He and Scott quickly walked over to the scanner to check it out. There on the scanner was three ships incoming. By the speed they would arrive in the next couple of hours. He recognized one of the ships as the transport that the Tiger had attacked a couple of days ago. The other two were escort ships but what they had seen.

"I think we should call this one in what do you think," Gunther said looking over to Scott.

"Aye laddie," Scott replied. "I think the commander will want to hear about this."

Gunther quickly walked over to the communication console. The conversation was quick but there were only the incoming ships to report. Once that was done then Ares would make up his mind about the next phase of the plan.

Ares thought about what he had just been told. He needed to know what was on the ships, but did not want to risk having the Hermes seen. Instead he told Gunther to inform Peter that the Arbus might be beginning a second phase of their invasion. They needed information about what happened on Earth.

Gunther acknowledged the order then signed off. He would wonder if this ship also had humans on board. It would be interesting to find out.

End of Movement

Continued in Chaos and Order


	28. Chapter 28: Chaos and Order

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Chaos and Order**

Ares walked around the bridge of the Tiger. He looked around and spotted Pratt sitting in the command chair. He could tell that Pratt was still trying to get comfortable with commanding a ship. It was a while before Ares had felt comfortable with the command of the Argo.

In a way it was a bit better not to still be part of the Colonial fleet. He never thought that he would have command of his own Battlestar at his age. He figured that he only way he had received the command was that he had no family back at the colonies. That and he was career military, knew Commander Backus and Commander Cain.

The Argo had finished her upgrade with the new metal which Ares was glad to get back. Both the Tiger and Argo had full crews and that helped him out. One thing they would have to worked on, the speed of the Argo. The Tiger and Hermes both were faster than the Argo. Doctor Weaver had made a few improvements in the engine technology after studying the ship that had been left aboard during the encounter with Able.

"Everything ready to go," Ares asked Pratt, before leaving the bridge and heading to the Argo.

"I think so commander," Pratt replied. Once Ares left the bridge then he would be in charge of the Tiger. He looked forward to his first command even though the thought scared him. Everyone would be looking at him for leadership.

"All right commander, I'll be heading over to the Argo," Ares said then left the bridge for the hangar.

Ares knew that once he was aboard the Argo than their plan would begin. He would know then how powerful the enemy ships were as a group. Though reports they had figured that the Arbus attack ships around Earth each held fifty fighters, the Argo currently held one hundred vipers and the Tiger an extra thirty. His pilots would still be outnumbered but it was something that they were used to.

The latest report from Earth was that the transport had arrived but at the station. It could just be a supply ship for the station and nothing else. Ares hoped that the reports were correct. He would have to wait and see.

* * *

Troy and Bri walked into the pilot's room and looked around. While there were a few new faces there were also the familiar faces of Jax and Nall. They walked over and sat down.

"Hey, well it's almost time," Jax said, greeting Troy and Bri.

"Yep, we'll be leaving once Commander Ares get aboard," Bri replied.

"Several new faces around here," Nall replied looking around.

"I think that's something we're going to have to get used to," Troy said and they all knew what he meant. War would mean losses which would mean their ranks would slowly shrink.

Troy wondered how many would survive the war and who would die in it. He wondered if it all was worth it. He was not sure what the price would be for this war. The only one who probably knew was time itself.

* * *

Ares walked onto the bridge of the Argo and felt at home again. It was a strange thing feeling at home on board a ship, but after being on board this ship for so long it was his home. He figured that many others thought the same way. Glancing around he noticed that there were many familiar faces still around the controls. Renee was still at her position as flight control officer which made him glad. He needed an experienced officer to handle the larger ship.

"Hail the Tiger to move out," Ares said. The order relayed and the battlestar, both ships began to move towards Earth and towards destiny.

* * *

Peter had not slept much last night. Today would decide if the Earth was still under Arbus control or in a fight for freedom. The upcoming battle could last for a while or be real quick. He personally hoped that it would be a quick battle but in war there was no telling what would happen.

There was a group off in one corner who were checking their weapons to make sure that they would work. Peter understood that. The last thing they needed in battle was malfunctioning weapons. They had been able to draft many ex-military, military and local police officers into a loose knit unit. Each group given a different objective.

The ex-military and police officers had formed a ground squadron to take the city back from the Arbus. They had also gain support from the local gangs that had roamed the streets. They did everything without the knowledge of anyone in the higher command.

One thing that he was glad for was the local air force base was on their side. The pilots had secretly begun to fill their planes tanks and under the cover of darkness the ground crew would arm the planes. Once the attack would begin they would launch to provide an air patrol.

What really scared Peter was everyone looked towards him for guidance. It was a strange thing feeling, him in command of a large scale operation when he had no experience in such a thing. He could only hope that he was up to the task considering he had no training at all.

A glance at his watch confirmed that the attack would be starting within the hour or so he hoped. If the battlestar Argo and gunstar Tiger were destroyed, their attack on Earth would be stopped as well. One thing that he was hoping on was the fact that other groups would take this as a sign to attack as well.

"Captain Peter, everything is ready," one of his aides said.

"Good, we'll know in a little while how effective everything is," Peter said.

"What are you plans if the Earth military does not join the battle," the aide asked.

"Well there was talk that the base here would undergo a coupé to make sure they continue fighting," Peter said.

"I hope that they join," the aide said.

"Me too," Peter replied.

* * *

The Battlestar Argo moved though the vacuum of space heading towards the Arbus station with deadly precision. The crew was already at their battle stations. The pilots were at their ships waiting for the command to launch. Ares was up on the bridge. which was bathed in a red light, as he waited for the Arbus station to close in.

He briefly wondered if he would be able to capture it. Then he remembered the transport that he had tried to capture. They had blown it up so that it was not captured. He saw that they were now in firing range of the Argo's weapons systems. The Tiger was also in place nearby ready to attack any incoming ships from Earth.

"Scanner reports that there are four ships around the Arbus station. Two escort ships, one attack ship and on transport," the scanner operator said.

"That leaves five attack ships orbiting Earth," Ares said. He had to attack and he could do it with surprise. "All fighters prepare to launch," he said.

Renee relayed the orders down to the launch bays. The pilots down there quickly raced from where they had waited nearby into the fueled and armed vipers. She nodded when everything was ready.

"Mega-tubo lasers stand by, solidomite missiles stand by," Ares ordered.

"Lasers standing by," one weapon system operator said while another reported in on the missiles.

"Lasers target the attack ship, missiles are to target the station," Ares said. "Is the Tiger standing by?"

"Weapons ready and lock on, Tiger standing by," Ares' new second in command, Reliy said.

"Negative shield now," Ares said.

They all watched as the shielding when up blocking their view out of the view window. The battlestar was not ready for combat.

"All weapons open fire, launch all vipers," Ares said.

* * *

Troy was waiting along with the rest of Gold squad. Bri, Nall and Jax were still part of his squad but there were a couple of new faces. They appeared a bit nervous. The Colonial warriors did not appear nervous. This is what they had trained for their entire life; war was just about all they knew. The Earthers were not as confident but there was something else there.

Troy could see a spark in the eyes of the Earthers. They wanted revenge on the Arbus for what had happened to their planet, their friends and their families. Troy did not have to think to hard to imagine what they were feeling. He was sure that Bri had the same fire in her when it came to the Cylons.

"All pilots report to your vipers," they all heard Renee's voice say.

"All right squad this is it," Troy said. "Remember to watch each other in case they get into trouble. We're probably going to be outnumbered, but if you stick to your training we should do just fine."

The group quickly and calmly went to their vipers. Troy stepped up beside Bri's viper for a second.

"Be careful," he told her.

"I will, you too," she replied.

Troy gave her a kiss then when over to his viper to get ready.

* * *

The Arbus station had been quietly sitting in the asteroid field rearming and refueling its supplies from the transport. Since the invasion of Earth it had required more supplies than it normally had. There had been an attack on a previous supply ship but so far the attackers were unknown. The enemy ships had fled before the reinforcement had arrived.

Suddenly alarms began to sound all over the Arbus station and nearby ships. They were under attack but the enemy was still not clear. Moments later the first enemy fighter was visible.

The Argo's first attack struck the attack ship with accuracy. The shields had not come up yet. Damage was immediate as the mega-turbo lasers impacted on the attack ships. The solidomite missiles struck moments later on the station.

The station took the brunt of two missiles and for a second seemed to be unscathed. Then a secondary explosion ripped though the station which caused other explosions. The reactor of the station was critically damaged and began an unchecked reaction.

On board the Argo the scanner operator reported that the reactor was about to go critical. They watched as the station exploded in a tremendous explosion taking one escort ship and the transport with it. The attack ship was a bit further away and the other escort ship appeared to take damage as well.

The vipers raced into action against the remaining escort ship. Their main targets were the known weapon systems on board the ship.

The Argo opened fire again on the attack ship which appeared to be recovering from the initial attack as its engines suddenly came to life and the ship began to move. The shields were slowly coming on line and took another hit from the Argo as the first counter strike fired from its weapons.

sssss

"Commander, the battle has begun," Ben said. He was Pratt's second in command on the Tiger.

"Red alert, negative shield now," Pratt said calmly. His order was carried out quickly and the shields came on line. "Any report on what the ships from Earth are doing?"

"Nothing yet," Ben replied. Pratt knew that would not last long. He hoped that they would be able to draw away the enemy ships in small groups and not as one large group. That would be the biggest problem. Either that or the ships would not leave their stations.

"Once the ships begin leaving hail the Hermes to tell Peter to begin the attack," Pratt said. It had been decided that the Tiger would watch for the Arbus attack ships to head away from Earth and notify the Hermes as to when to begin the ground attack. They figured that the Argo would be fully engaged in battle at that moment.

A glance at the scanner indicated that the battle was going well for them so far. The station had just been destroyed and it appeared that a couple of other ships as well.

"Commander, we're getting two attack class Arbus ships heading our way," Ben said.

"Good, report to the Hermes to begin their operation," Pratt said. "Then prepare to open fire on the nearest Arbus ship on my order."

"Yes sir," Ben said as the order was relayed to the rest of the ship.

The Tiger's two mega-turbo lasers were primed and ready. Unlike the Argo's mega-turbos the Tiger's main armament was more powerful as it had been designed as an anti-capital ship weapon system.

sssss

Peter waited with his communicator open hoping that the orders would come soon. The waiting seemed to be the hardest part. He had gotten reports of what it was like outside. The weather was cloudy with reports of thunder in the distance. Peter could not make up his mind if he wanted to attack during a thunderstorm or not.

"Captain Peter," Gunther said over the communicator.

"Peter here go ahead," Peter replied.

"The operation has begun, begin the ground phase," Gunther said.

"Copy," Peter said turning to everyone in the bunker. "All right people, this is the moment we've been waiting for. Move out."

With that several radio operators began to send out the message to attack. Peter stood in the middle of the small command center that they had set up. He looked over as different units reported in with what was happening. He could only hope that everything turned out all right.

* * *

Sara stood nearby one jet fighter. Her sister, Tammy, had come to her with information that she had thought was unbelievable. But after listening to her commanding officer lately she could only hope that what she had said was true. A few others were also around waiting in small groups for the word to begin the operation. Looking over she noticed that her commanding officer was headed her way.

"Lieutenant Sara, what are so many pilots doing near their fighters," the officer asked.

Sara opened her mouth to reply when the radio crackled to life.

"All units begin operations," the voice said over the radio.

"What's going on here," the officer said.

"We're doing something that you should be doing, fighting for out people," one pilot said then turned to walk towards his fighter.

"I will have you all court marshaled for sure if you continue this illegal action," the officer said.

"No we're just trying to defend our people against an enemy that you seem to think isn't there," Sara said. "All right everyone, mount up and hit the skies," she said as they all went to their fighters.

"I will tell the general on you and then have you shot down," the officer said beginning to walk to the command center.

He had only taken a few steps when the ground grew surrounded him. He ordered them to move but no one budged.

"I want to know why you top dogs haven't done anything. My wife and kids were killed in the invasion," one ground crew member said.

"There is no invasion you idiots. It was all a misunderstanding," the officer said.

"So when the invaders killed my brother yesterday what was that," another one asked.

"He must have fought back," the officer said.

"He was walking home from the store trying to find food," the man replied. "You're not going to do anything."

The group converged on the officer as the howl of the jets roared across the field. The first jet took off despite the tower control yelling for them not to.

* * *

"Fighters have launched," one person reported to Peter.

"Good," he replied. They would have some air cover for the ground patrol. The reports from the city were also looking encouraging as well. It had seemed like they had caught the Arbus off guard.

"Report coming in from the Hermes," another report said.

"Put it thought," Peter said.

"How are thinks going down there," Gunther asked.

"So far so good, we have air support and the ground troops seemed to have caught the Arbus troops off guard. I'm now working on getting the local new coverage to air what's going on," Peter said. He had the feeling that if the news agency covered the uprising then other groups might also revolt.

"All right, up here the battle is fully engaged, I don't know when to expect help from up here," Gunther told him.

"Understood," Peter replied. He really was not expecting much help from the colonial warriors in the beginning. "How do things look up there?"

"Pretty even right now, we took them by surprise but now it's a match of skills," Gunther said partly wishing that he was out there as well.

"I'll let you know if anything happens down here," Peter said.

"Copy that," Peter said.

* * *

Troy banked the viper around for another quick run at the Arbus attack ship. There were several fighters engaged all around him. He had decided to take a quick shot at the capital ship while he could.

"You've picked one up on you tail," Bri said over the intercom.

Troy made a quick turn avoiding the laser blasts from the Arbus fighter. Bri had positioned herself in a way that lined up a clean shot of the fighter. A quick thumb on the fire button and the Arbus fighter exploded.

"Good shot," Troy said. He fired off a couple of shots at the capital ship.

The battle seemed even at the moment. They were only outnumbered by about two to one instead of three to one. The vipers were a bit more maneuverable than the Arbus fighters but slower giving neither side a good advantage.

The Tiger had destroyed one of the attack ships before it could enter the battle. It appeared that the Arbus warships had trouble zeroing in on the Argo and Tiger. That made the battle more even as the two Colonial ships opened fire on the Arbus ships.

Troy lined up another fighter and destroyed it. So far they were taking some losses as well.

"Troy, do you notice anything odd," Nall asked over the intercom.

"Not really, why," Troy asked as he covered Bri as she destroyed anther fighter. "Good shot."

"I don't know, something just seems odd that's all," Nall replied.

"We'll figure it out later, there's a battle to win," Troy said.

"Until later then," Nall said as he destroyed another Arbus fighter.

* * *

Ares stood on the bridge of the Argo listening to the reports of the combat that was going on. So far they had taken out the station, two attack class ships, two escort class ships and the transport. That left the four attack ships.

"Target has suffered heavy damage," Renee said, relaying the reports.

"Continue firing the mega-turbos," Ares said.

"Damage control is stating that there is a fire in Alpha landing bay, it may take some time to get under control," Reliy said, who was receiving the damage control reports.

Ares nodded his head. He wasn't too concerned with that. If they won the battle then they could have the vipers land on Earth. The important thing was making sure they won the battle.

"Target's engines are going critical, warning all fighters to clear the blast area," Renee said.

Area watched the scanner as one of the Arbus ships disappeared from the scanner. They were now down to three ships.

"Tiger is reporting only light damage at the moment," Reliy said. That was good now for Ares. If they could escape the battle with at least one ship relatively unscathed then it would be better later on.

"Tiger's target disabled, switching targets," Renee said.

Ares could sense an air of victory in the bridge with each destroyed Arbus ship. He refused to give into such a feeling as it could lead to a defeat instead.

"Report from Earth, things are going well," Reliy said.

Ares knew that was also good news. If they could make sure that Earth was secure then it would help out even more. He was not sure what to expect after the battle on Earth. Would the people be willing to continue such a war? What about the leaders of Earth. It had appeared to him that they were reluctant for some reason to fight the Arbus. That was one question that Ares wanted an answer to.

* * *

Gunther watched helplessly as friends that he had known now for almost two years fought without him. He was a bystander in a slugging match. So far it seemed as if they were winning. Only two of the Arbus attack ships remained in the battle and both were taking damage. The battle on Earth appeared to be going well from the reports that he had received from Captain Peter.

"Well laddie, it appears the fight is going our way at the moment," Scott said, walking over to where Gunther was.

"Yeah it does," Gunther said. So far the Arbus had not tried to retreat or surrender. It was something Colonial warriors had seen often fighting against the Cylons. It was either win, retreat or die against the Cylons. At the moment the war against the Arbus appeared the same.

"I don't understand why they continue to fight," Scott said.

"I don't either, but it is how we're used to fighting," Gunther replied as another quick report came in from Earth.

"It appears that our troops are slowly winning," Scott said. "That's all that they are saying at the moment.

"That's good news," Gunther said, watching another Arbus ship exploded leaving only one ship left. "Looks like the battle up here is almost over."

* * *

Pratt listened to the report that another Arbus ship had exploded. That left only one ship attacking them. The Tiger's scanners reported that the remaining Arbus ship was heavily damaged. He wondered why they would not surrender.

"Sir, we're getting a message from the Argo on a clear signal," the communications officer said.

Pratt frowned at that but ordered it put up anyways. Commander Ares appeared and with his first words Pratt realized what Ares was up to.

"Attention Arbus ship, surrender and prepare to be boarded," Ares said.

Pratt realized that the commander was hoping to avoid any more bloodshed than necessary. Pratt wondered what the reply would be.

"Energy build up in the Arbus ship," the scanner operator said.

"Frack," Pratt said realizing that it was probably an engine overload to destroy the ship. He wondered about the training that the aliens went though to destroy themselves like this.

"Enemy ship destroyed," the quiet voice said.

Pratt realized that this battle was now over. Now they had to get ready for the ground battle.

"Recover all vipers for rearming and refueling. Set new course to orbit Earth," Pratt said. He was sure that on board the Argo similar instructions were underway.

"A message over the fleet com line," Ben said.

"Commander, what can I do for you," Pratt asked as Ares face appeared on the monitor.

"How are the Tiger's landing bays," Ares asked.

"It's up and operational," Pratt replied.

"Good, I'm going to send a few vipers your way. The Alpha bay's damaged and will be out of commission for a while," Ares said.

"Okay, I'll have our crew standing by," Pratt said.

The Argo and Tiger made their way slowly to Earth to help out in any way that they could. On board both ships ground crews raced around to prepare for landing to help out the Earth forces where they could.

Pratt watched as Earth came closer into view while the damage reports were given. The Tiger had come though relatively unscathed. That would be good news later on Pratt thought. Now it was time for the second phase of the operation.

End of Chaos and Order

Continued in Discoveries


	29. Chapter 29: Discoveries

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Discoveries**

Peter walked over to the communicator. Captain Gunther was reporting in from the Hermes. It appeared that the fight in space had finally ended. It would take a few minutes until any forces from the ships were available to help out on the ground. It was one thing however that he was grateful for. That meant the forces on the ground would not have to worry about an air strike or a strike from space.

"How are things going down there," Gunther asked Peter.

"So far so good," Peter replied. "We've taken most of the town from the Arbus forces. It's a bit more of a hit and run type tactic that both sides are using."

"How long before the entire city is under your control," a new voice said. It took only a second before Commander Ares' face appeared on the screen.

"Well, we believe that we'll have regained control over the city hopefully by the end of the day," Peter replied.

"Any news from other parts of the world," Ares asked. He hoped that more places would begin to rebel once a general rebellion started.

"I'm still trying to get the local news agency on it. We do have some reports that a few cities have begun a rebellion as well but nothing firm yet," Peter said.

"All right keep me informed. We should have some reinforcements for you in a little while," Ares told him.

"No problem commander," Peter replied as the screen went dark. Peter figured that the warships would probably take some damage that might affect their fighting readiness.

"Do we have anything else that has happened," Peter asked.

"Nothing yet captain," Tammy replied.

Peter wondered how long the citizens of Earth would allow this invader to control them.

* * *

Bri and Troy walked down the corridor to the pilots debriefing room. They had won the first phase of the battle and now the second phase was about to begin. He knew that intelligence did not have enough information to provide targets for strikes by the vipers just yet.

Walking into the room he felt relieved when he saw so many of his friends still alive. Nall and Jax were sitting at a couple of seats. Troy was sure that Rebecca would be grateful for that. Looking around he did notice that the heaviest losses were from the new recruits. Not that it was that unexpected to him.

Troy sat down and Bri sat down next to him. Commander Ares would be coming in soon to give them an update on how the ground battle was going. A lot of things depended on them winning this battle. They would need people to fight the new war. It was something that he was sure would not be over quickly.

"All right ladies and gentlemen I do have some news for you all," Ares said as he walked into the room. "First off, for the Colonial warriors. We received the latest news from home. Nothing much has changed. There is talk of sending the Pegasus and the fifth fleet to help out the Delphian system, will probably take some time before anything is finalized."

Several of them looked at each other. Troy was not sure that sending part of the fleets away to help out another group was wise. Most of the group here knew that such a thing would not be taken lightly. There were not enough battlestars to defend the Colonies if the fifth fleet fell.

"Second news is the battle on Earth. From what Captain Peter is able to tell me he has almost beaten back the Arbus in his city. So far he has not heard anything from any other city or military units. So we should exercise extreme caution when heading down to the planet's surface," Ares said. "I don't want us being surprised by something on the ground."

The group understood what the commander was saying. Most in the group hoped that the battle would go smoothly. Troy was hoping that they could uncover something about the Arbus that they could use. Maybe some reason about why the race had attacked them in the first place.

The pilots received their orders as to where to do and where to patrol. They also knew that there would be some Earth fighters in the air. There was also the reasoning that some Earth fighter might attack the vipers. If that was to happen then the pilots were to escape into space at once. Troy hoped that he did not have to worry about that. The meeting ended and the pilots headed to their vipers to help out anyway they could.

* * *

Troy walked onto the shuttle. He was one of a few to volunteer to be part of the ground forces. He was a bit surprised when Bri and Nall joined him on board the shuttle.

"Thought you were going to fly cover," Troy asked looking at Bri.

"Fly cover when you're down there, I don't think so dear," Bri said. "I go where you go."

"Okay," Troy said, knowing that he would not be able to change her mind. He then looked at Nall. "What about you."

"Hey, someone has to watch her back while she's watching yours," Nall said with a smile.

"Just be sure that not watching my butt," Bri replied.

"I won't let anything happen to that pretty butt of yours," Nall replied.

"All right, if you're both here then who's commanding the squad," Troy asked, when he saw them.

"Jax is," Nall replied.

"You mean she didn't want to come along with us," Troy asked.

"Nope, she said it was too dangerous. Something about not being able to see the enemy coming," Nall replied.

"Then I guess it's the three of us," Troy said. Part of him felt better with them along and another part worried about what might happen.

They sat down as the shuttle launched and made its way down to the planet's surface. They would be meeting with Captain Peter once on the surface to see what the situation was. The flight was not that long before they landed on the surface. The door opened and the group walked out to see destruction everywhere. There were few buildings that had not been damaged in some way.

"Captain Troy," a male voice said, as the group turned to see Captain Peter walking towards him. "Hope your flight was uneventful."

"Quite smooth thanks for asking," Troy said. "What is the situation?"

"Well," he said pulling out a map of the city. "We're here, and have control of this area. Resistance is heaviest in this sector."

"What about the military base," Troy asked.

"Haven't heard much except that the fighters are flying cover for us and helping out as much as they can," Peter said. "It's a bit hard without direct communication."

"Then lets rectify that," Troy said. "We're heading to the base and see what's going on."

With a mission, the group headed out.

* * *

Troy watched the base for himself as many people walked around like nothing was going on. He had learned from Peter that the Tammy had gotten in and out with ease, so the young woman was with them now. They were taking a small group; just Nall and Bri were also along. Tammy quietly led them though the perimeter of the base.

Once on the base they made their way over to where the hangers were. Tammy had a feeling that her sister would not be there but it would have the best shot of finding out who to contact. They were about halfway there when Troy noticed something strange. He motioned everyone down. Armed guards that had surrounded the hangars. They made their way closer where they could overhear the conversation.

"You are in direct violation of superior orders," a man said into a megaphone. "What you have done could result in war with the aliens."

Troy's eyebrows rose at that comment. He glanced around to the other men. He could tell that many of them were uncomfortable with what was going on.

"If you do not surrender, force may be applied," the man said. Troy could not stand to hear any more and approached the group.

"Force may be applied," Troy said loud enough for all to hear. "Funny, considering how the aliens have destroyed your cities, killed who knows how many civilians, yet you stand here and do nothing. Isn't that in violation of who you swore to protect?"

The group turned to look at Troy and the others. The guards were perplexed. Three of the group in front of them were dress in tans and browns. A weapon was on the hip of all three and they had a look of military personal.

"And you are trespassing," the man said.

"Tell me how it is that you can stand there and do nothing when millions of innocents are dying," Troy said. "Why are you so stubborn about fighting back?"

"You know nothing," the man said.

"Then enlighten me," Troy challenged, as the man walked up to him.

"It is the cycle," he said just loud enough for Troy to head before the man attacked him.

Bri watched as the man attacked her husband. Before the man could move again Bri had the man on the ground and drew her weapon.

"I would stay still if I were you," Nall said seeing Bri's face.

"You have to realize that you can fight back," Troy said. "The ships in orbit have been defeated."

"Impossible," the man on the ground said. "We don't have a space military."

"You don't, but we do," Troy said. "It's too long to explain but you can free your people now."

"Are you sure," one guard said.

"Yes," Troy said. "But now we need your help to complete it."

The group looked at each other almost as if they were trying to figure out what was the right course of action. Finally one of them made a decision.

* * *

Sara banked her fighter around looking visually for any targets. She was also keeping an eye on her fuel. She was beginning to run a bit low and knew that the rest of her squad would be as well. Returning to base was not the best option at the moment as there was no way of knowing what type of reception they would receive.

"Hey lieutenant, any idea as to what we should do when we run out of fuel," one of her squadron members asked.

She was about to answer when another voice interrupted her.

"Then come on back to the barn, we'll refuel and rearm you," the voice said.

"Lieutenant, what do you think," her squad member said.

"I'm not sure," Sara said.

"Lieutenant Sara, the officers have been arrested and Hawkes base is giving full support to this attack now," the controller's voice said.

"Well, we'll try it," Sara finally said. "Give us landing orders."

"Roger Eagle squad," the controller said.

Sara approached the base according to the controller's orders. She noticed after she touched down that other squads were arming as well. She wondered what had happened to bring the base back into the fight.

* * *

"Captain, they are making a news break," One of the men said to Peter. He quickly made his way over to where the TV was sitting to see what was going on.

"This breaking news just in," the reporter said. "We have reports that the military jets have been spotted overhead for the first time since the aliens attacked."

There was a bit of commotion from off-screen and that distracted the reporter's attention for a second. The reporter quickly recovered and focused back on the camera.

"We have things that we have not told you that are important. I don't know how long they will allow us to continue. There are new reports that the alien spaceships were defeated, and at least one town has freed itself from the alien control. Now is the time to rise up and rebel," the reporter said.

The screen quickly went blank making Peter turn to the nearest person.

"Get me Commander Ares," Peter said an idea forming in his mind. It did not take long before Ares was on the screen.

"What's going on down there," Ares asked.

"It appears that there are people who want to fight, but people are telling them not to. I think if we could broadcast a message to the people it might help out," Peter said.

"That might work," Ares said. "I think I have just the person that we could use as well."

The screen went blank for a moment then came back. It took a second then another face appeared. Senator Sam Harvey listened to what Ares was saying. Ares was telling the senator about Peter's idea. The senator thought it was a good idea. Peter wondered how long it would take before the broadcast would start. He did not have to wait long until the senator's face appeared on the screen.

"This is Senator Sam Harvey of the United North Americas. Many of you know that aliens have invaded our home killed millions of people yet there has been almost no response from the governments. That has changed. The warships that were orbiting the planet have now been eliminated. The time to strike back is now. I urge you to rise up and free yourself now," Sam said on the TV. "All ready several military units have begun to fight back but they will need your help to complete this."

Peter continued to listen to the senator. He hoped that this would bring people into the battle.

* * *

Ares sat in his chair on the bridge of the battlestar Argo waiting for reports of the ground war. So far rumors and reports were coming in from the main ground base about fragments of military units beginning to join the fight, many times in direct violation of their superior officers. This still disturbed Ares. What type of military officer denies his troops the chance to strike back when the opportunity arrives?

He had several questions about the invasion. Why the Arbus attacked to how the leaders of Earth were acting? Ares only hoped that he was able to figure it out before it was too late. There was a lot at stake, more than many on Earth would probably ever know.

"Commander," Reliy said. "We have reports from the China sector of uprisings."

Ares looked on as another marker placed on the map. That meant that there were now around sixty groups that were rebelling. There were also large areas that the Arbus did not have any units in. A large expanse was already recaptured. Ares also knew that the next phase of the war would be harder to do. By most accounts the current governments could not be trusted to protect the citizens. That meant that new governments would have to be set up. Ideally one single government would be set up.

Sam and another senator John were already working on writing up a new government proposal. Ares wanted to know what government officials hindered any efforts to protect the people against those who did try.

Ares could only hope that the ground campaign ended soon. Then they would have to begin to deal with protection of the planet which meant that at least one ship would remain here at the moment. He really wished that the destroyer was complete. That would be the next part, building a large number of warships with which to defend Earth.

* * *

"Hey Weaver, can you come here for a second," Weaver's assistant asked him.

Weaver walked over to where his assistant was standing. It did not take long for Weaver to notice what the man was looking at.

"That's a bit interesting," Weaver said. The metal deposits were a bit strange and now Weaver had a bit of a mystery on his hands.

"I was thinking of sending out a team to investigate the readings," the aide said.

"That's a good idea," Weaver said as he continued to look at it. There was something strange about the shape of the metal deposits. A team would be able to figure it out a lot quicker than he would standing here. "In fact I think I'll go as well."

"All right I'll let the team leader know," the aide said.

* * *

"Is this the place," Weaver said as the small group stopped at a point not far from the base. They were wearing oxygen masks just to make sure that they had enough oxygen in the natural atmosphere.

"Yes doctor," the leader of the group replied.

"Let's see what we can find," Weaver said. "The metal should be close to the surface."

The group began to dig though what was surprisingly soft soil. They dug down a little ways until the soil became harder. That's when they began to use the shovels and other tools.

Weaver turned to look at the scanner. The metal was not far down and not that big compared to other deposits. It was the outline of this one that had him wondering. That and according to scans the metal was in a higher quantity. That also puzzled him a bit as well. The other deposits were a lower quantity but easy to get to. They had not mined this one because of its size. It was a smaller one and the logic was to get the larger mine operational as quickly as possible.

"Doctor Weaver, can you come here," one of the group said. The tone in the man's voice indicated that something was different.

Weaver walked over to where the man was just standing there with his shovel looking puzzled about what was going on. Weaver got to the spot and did not notice much. The shovel appeared resting in the ground.

"What did you find," Weaver asked.

"Listen," the man said lifting his shovel then sending it down. A clank sound greeted their ears.

Weaver's eyebrows went together at the sound. It sounded like metal striking another metal. He took the shovel and repeated the motion getting the same sound. He then began to wipe the dirt away from the surface. What began to appear was not something that he had hoped to see. A dull metallic surface began to appear as he brushed more and more away.

"Let's clear this away and see if we can figure out what this is. It's obviously manufactured which means someone with intelligence built it," Weaver said sending the team to work. It might take a while but he had a new mystery to try to solve.

* * *

Ares waited for the Hermes to return from Centari One. On board were the two senators which would be the best help of getting a new government working on Earth. He was not sure how long it would be before the Arbus made a counterattack. He had sent the Tiger in the direction where another battle had occurred. Now he wanted time and information about any Arbus attack fleet. Green squad was also now flying patrol around the system making sure that no Arbus station was still around.

The ground war had wound down a few hours ago. Ares was a bit disappointed to learn that they captured no Arbus alive. For some reason they had all either gone down fighting or killed themselves.

"The Hermes is inbound commander," Renee said from her post.

"Good," Ares said. That meant that he could begin with this phase of the planning. Down on the planet Peter was already gathering groups that they were hoping to become the next leaders of the planet. He would leave that part up to the two senators.

"Commander, we're getting a message from the planet," Renee said. "They want you to come down and see."

Ares was not sure what was going on but decided that he would. He told Renee to let them know that he would be down shortly and to have a pilot ready to shuttle him down.

* * *

Ares walked out of the shuttle, and greeted by Nall and Jax. The two of them were helping mop up operations on the city.

"So what's going on lieutenant," Ares asked approaching the two of them.

"Come on in," Nall said quietly. Ares walked into the room and stopped at what he saw.

"By the lords of Kobal," Ares said glancing at what he was seeing. "Tell me I'm not seeing this."

"I can't," Nall said turning to walk back out with Jax and Ares following.

"How many know about this," Ares said.

"I don't know," Nall replied.

"They were killing the human race," Ares said. Inside he had seen the instruments of mass killing along with piles of dead bodies. The entire thing did not make any sense. "I think its time to talk with these leaders."

* * *

Sam and John could not believe the stubbornness of the remaining elected officials that nothing was happening. Cities were in ruins and millions had died and they were saying nothing had happened. Ares chose that moment to walk into the room.

"Commander, glad you could join us," Sam said noticing that the normally calm and cool commander appeared quite angry.

"Did you know," Ares asked the group in front of Sam and John. The two exchanged a glance but turned to the group.

"Know what," one of them said in an accent.

"That the Arbus had set up mass killing chambers and were wiping out large segments of the human race," Ares said.

"Don't be ridicules," one of the said. "There is no danger from the aliens."

"How about I show you then, then you can say it didn't happen," Ares said.

* * *

The group was forced to go inside. Sam and John were almost sick to see something. The only thing that they could even relate it to was the Holocaust of World War Two. There was a pile of bodies that was rotting in the corner which made Sam wonder what the Arbus' plan was.

"This does not prove anything," one of the members said.

Ares wanted to strike the man but then noticed something. There appeared to be two different groups.

"What do you mean," another one said. "I'm not staying quiet any more. The Arbus are invaders and it looks like they were trying to wipe us out."

"Nonsense," one from the other group said.

Ares watched a bit more as the two groups separated themselves from each other. Know Ares knew that something really was going on.

"Commander," one of the group said. "Can you arrest these men and hold them. I don't think they are human."

"Yes I can," Ares said waving a couple of guards on over.

"This is outrageous," the apparent leader said.

"Just until you prove that you are in fact human," John said. The group led away, leaving them alone.

* * *

Weaver stood looking at what appeared. It was taking more and more shape. He was hesitant to say anything just yet. That was until what appeared to be a hinge appeared. That was what Weaver had been waiting to discover.

"Concentrate here," Weaver said to the group. It took a few more seconds to uncover but as they did whispers began to swirl about what they were uncovering. "I think its time we call Commander Ares about this."

"Doctor is this what I think it is," the team leader asked.

"I believe it's a spaceship of some sort," Weaver said. "We'll know more once we go inside. But let's send a few back to report what we found and gain supplies."

It was a tremendous discovery and one that no one was expecting to find. Weaver wondered what type of discoveries they would find once they got inside the ship. He hoped that the technology still worked as there was not telling how long the ship had been here.

With one last glance he headed back to the base. He only hoped that Commander Ares had finished with the battle at Earth and could spare some time to look at this discovery. The questions that Weaver was thinking now, where did the ship had come from and who built it?

End of Discoveries

Continued in Atlantians


	30. Chapter 30: The Atlantians

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**The ****Atlantians**

Ares was just about to head back to the meeting room with the remaining government officials when the call from Argo came. Doctor Weaver wanted him to see something back on Centari One. He was reluctant to leave and was glad that he bumped into Troy and his group.

"Captain, I'm glad I ran into you," Ares said. "Would you be willing to head back to Centari One and find out what doctor Weaver has discovered for me?"

"Yeah, I think Nall wanted to go back anyways," Troy said. The three of them could go on back and report back to the commander.

"Good," Ares said. "You leave immediately."

He was gone before anyone could say anything else. Troy and Bri looked at each other in puzzlement then with a shrug they looked at Nall.

"Don't ask me, I don't know either," he replied. "We should probably get going. Knowing the commander he had already contacted the Hermes about this and will be waiting."

The group walked away from where they had just been talking towards the shuttle pad. There was a waiting shuttle heading to the Hermes.

"I wonder what the doctor has discovered," Bri said as they climbed aboard the shuttle.

"Don't know but this should be interesting," Troy said.

* * *

Weaver waited for Troy, Bri and Nall to land in the landing bay of the base. He had been told by Commander Ares that things were still a bit sticky at Earth and the government so they were coming instead. He didn't mind really. He just wanted someone else that he trusted there to help him out.

The shuttle landed and the three people walked out. Weaver walked over to where they were standing to greet them.

"Doctor Weaver, Commander Ares says that you've found something interesting," Troy said, getting down to business.

"Yes, the find has been real interesting lately," Weaver said. "We were investigating one of the smaller metal deposits nearby and discovered something really interesting."

"All right," Troy said not sure if this was the time to go off on an archeological dig or something like that.

"We found a spaceship, or at least I believe it's a spaceship," Weaver said. That got everyone's attention. It was not everyday that they find a buried spaceship nearby.

"Any idea as to who built it," Troy asked.

"We haven't gone inside yet. We're still concentrating on uncovering it to se how much is intact," Weaver said. "I'm planning to open the door here in the next couple of Earth hours."

"I think I would like to be there for that," Troy said, his curiosity peaked at the thought of such a mystery.

"Good, put your things up and we'll go out right away," Weaver said, a bit of excitement in his voice.

"We'll meet you at the doors then," Troy said ,parting ways with the doctor.

"Found a spaceship," Nall said speaking up.

"Sounds incredible," Bri said.

"Incredible but true," Rebecca voice said from behind them.

"Hey," Nall said giving her a hug.

"So I take it you've seen it then," Troy asked her.

"What little there is too see so far," Rebecca replied. "So far all they have is a what looks like a metal sheet uncovered along with what appears to be a hatch."

"A hatch," Nall said.

"Yeah, looks like it landed on its side or something," Rebecca said.

"That should make for an interesting exploration then," Troy said. "That is if any of the ship still remains."

They arrived at the temporary quarters and set their bags inside. They then made their way to the hatch and the dig site that this spaceship was at. There were a lot of questions that needed to be answered for this mystery.

* * *

Pratt walked in to the room the next morning to see Ares already sitting in the room. He briefly wondered if the man had gotten any sleep during the night. He had heard that Ares had sent Captain Troy and Lieutenants Bri and Nall back to Centari One. Doctor Weaver had discovered something nearby that he wanted the commander there to see.

"Did you get any sleep last night Ares," Pratt asked as he sat down next to him.

"No, not really," Ares said. "There is so much to do. I spent a good portion of the night talking with Sam and John about what the officials on Earth would do. I haven't yet told the others about the fact that we're not from Earth."

"Ah, the sticking point," Pratt said.

"Yeah, they might view us as part of the Arbus, or a group that is fighting them or something like that," Ares said.

"Hadn't thought of that," Pratt said.

"Yeah, Sam mentioned that one," Ares said.

"I can see where that might be a problem," Pratt said. "We might want to be careful then."

"Yeah, but I know that questions will begin to come soon," Ares said. "Especially once they get a look at the ships and begin to wonder where they came from."

"So what was so important that you sent Troy, Nall and Bri back to Centari One," Pratt asked.

"Doctor Weaver's team discovered a spaceship buried near the base," Ares said.

A whistle came from Pratt at that statement. "A spaceship, that quite a find," Pratt said.

"I know, I'm waiting for the next report," Ares said. The door opened causing them both to look up at the incoming group. Several people walked in to begin the next day's discussions.

Pratt observed that most of them also looked like they had not slept much last night. He was sure that it would continue until they finally hashed out a new government system. There was going to be a lot of work to do.

Ares stifled a sigh as more people came in. It would be another day of arguing about this and that when in the long run such trivial matters did not matter. There would be more arguments from the Middle East and the Asian sectors. Ares could only hope that they realized that they were at war and that their arguments only hindered their abilities to defend themselves.

* * *

Bri glanced at the dig sit in a way a bit disappointed by what she saw. They were looking at a hole in the ground. She guessed that seeing that there would be a spaceship sitting above ground would be unreasonable. Walking over to the edge of the ground she looked down to see what they had uncovered.

There was the hatch that Weaver had said they had uncovered. They had uncovered some wording that she strained to try and recognize. Some of it almost reminded her of the writing they had found back on Kobol. But she was not an expert in reading the ancient language.

"Have you been able to translate the writing," Bri asked as she turned to Doctor Weaver.

"Not yet. I haven't been able to determine what base language to use yet," Weaver said. "Of course there is a chance that the ship was built by some unknown race."

"So when do we go in," Troy said.

"Well, that's more up to you. We don't know what to expect once inside," Weaver said. "I would prefer that an exploring team go in first."

"I'll volunteer," Troy said.

"Actually I was hoping that you would lead it," Weaver said.

"All right," Troy replied then took another look down at where the hatch was. It would be an interesting adventure that was for sure. He glanced over at Bri and Nall. He figured that they would want to be on the team. He was not sure if anyone else should go along though. A smaller team might be better this time. He went with Bri and Nall to gather what supplies they might need.

* * *

Weaver watched as the hatch was opened for the first time in a long time by Troy. They had on oxygen tanks because they did not know what type of atmosphere would be inside. Everyone else was away from the site in case of something happened that they were not expecting.

Troy opened the hatch and let out a breath of relief. He turned on the flashlight so he could see what was inside. They were correct in that the ship was on its side.

"All right doctor, we're going in," Troy said over the radio. Weaver was also watching what they were seeing though the cameras on their hats.

The three of them made their way inside the ship using a rope to get inside. One they hit a solid foothold on a flat surface they looked around some more.

"Well, this is strange," Nall said, as he glanced around. The ship's corridor seemed to be in good shape.

"Yeah, walking on the wall is just freaky," Bri said as she looked at their floor which was actually the wall of the corridor.

"Let's see if we can find anything," Troy said as they made their way around to what he hoped was the front of the ship.

"More of the strange writing," Nall said as he glanced at a doorway. The door was open and he peaked inside for a few moments. The room appeared to be someone's quarters at one time. There was stuff all over the far wall, like a frame for a bed, desk, and chair.

"Looks more like something humanoid would use," Bri said remembering the strange furniture that she had seen on another remote planet when they had first left the colonies.

Troy nodded his head and then said that the should continue. There was still a lot to do and see before they left. The continued down the corridor before reaching a turn in the corridor. Part of it went straight another part when what appeared to be the other side of the ship.

"Shine you're light down there," Troy said. He could see a door about halfway down that he had a good feeling about. "Let's try that door if we can."

It took a bit of effort but they were able to get Bri down there to the door. Troy also figured that the room on the other side would be bigger than other rooms.

Bri managed to open the door and looked around inside. It appeared to be some sort of command room. Most of the chair and furniture were bolted to the ground giving it a strange look to her.

"It looks like a command room or something like that," Bri said.

"Let's see if we can find anything there," Troy said.

* * *

Weaver watched on from where he was sitting. They had three monitors each showing a view of one of the three down in the ship. So far he could see that they were inside some sort of control room for the spaceship. He was not sure if it was the bridge or not by looking. He really wished that there was power to the ship.

Weaver could see the strange symbols all over the bridge but could not read any of them. The writing was similar to that back at the pyramids at Kobal. On another screen he brought one up to see if he could decipher what it was saying.

"Hey, Egyptian hieroglyphics," a voice said from behind him. Weaver turned to see who had come up and noticed Rebecca.

"Egyptian hieroglyphics," Weaver repeated.

"Yeah, it looks a lot like some of the hieroglyphics on the Egyptian pyramids on Earth," she replied.

"Can you read them," Weaver asked.

"Not that well," Rebecca said. "I took a class on it back in college but wasn't very good at it. There are probably people who do understand it back on Earth though."

"Hmm, that might be worth looking into," Weaver said. He wondered if the writing here was this Egyptian hieroglyphics that Rebecca was talking about. That would help them out quite a bit. Making a decision he made a brief video of what had been screen and sent it to the Argo to see if anyone on Earth could read it.

Rebecca watched as the doctor did some things on the computer. He had adapted quickly to the Earth technology better than a lot of others. Rebecca was wondering what the writing was doing on board that spaceship. It was something that she had not been expecting to see that was for sure.

Weaver and Rebecca wondered what surprise the ship had in store for them next.

* * *

Troy, Bri and Nall exited from the ship after exploring most of the ship. The engine room was a place that they decided not to head to. It would not be a place that they would want to try to explore while the ship was on its side. There was a lot of stuff lying on the around inside that Troy had not been expecting to discover.

What did not surprise him was the lack of paper or any other storage device. Of course there was the idea that whoever used this ship no longer used paper. They might have used something else that either they did not know what to look for or had long since been destroyed.

Troy handed off his oxygen tank to the nearest person who took it from him. He then helped out Bri and then Nall out of the hatch.

"Any idea as to what type of ship it was," Weaver asked.

"Looks like a type of small transport or maybe a small patrol ship," Troy said.

"Could it belong to the Arbus," Bri asked.

"Don't' think so," Weaver said. "Rebecca thought that the writing was similar to some writing on Earth."

"And it a bit similar to what we found on Kobol. Could be a common language," Troy said.

"Maybe," Weaver said.

"Or just a large coincidence," Bri said.

"Could be, but we don't know," Weaver said. "We'll look over what you brought back and find out more."

The group walked away from the site as a group continued to work to clear the dirt away from the ship. They all knew that the work would be slow as most workers were up at the space dock working on the latest warship, the Cheetah destroyer.

* * *

Ares sighed as he walked back to the hotel that he was staying at. Even though he was outside on the planet he still missed his quarters back on the Argo for some strange reason. It was strange as he thought about that.

On the Argo he had recycled air and no organic interaction as he did on a planet. He had more room and more to see than on the Argo yet he considered the Argo his home. Pratt had gone back to the Tiger to do an extended patrol to check for any incoming Arbus ships. Ares was fully expecting to find out that a new group of ships was on their way.

The counter attack to free Earth had been completed two days ago and now they were trying to form a new government. Many people who survived the invasion were angry at the current governments. Ares could not blame them. They had found mass killing plants either under construction or had just started to go online all over the planet.

That was something that disturbed Ares a lot. They had also gotten back the blood work from the politicians who were against fighting. They were fully human according to the reports. Ares was really hoping that it would turn out to be an Arbus alien.

He opened up the report from Doctor Weaver as he sat down at the desk in the hotel room. It was the current report from what had been uncovered near the base at Centari One. The latest report was the writings on the ship seemed to be a combination of Kobol and Egyptian. That was a bit strange to Ares. The communicator chimed making him look over at it.

"Commander Ares," he replied.

"Commander, doctor Weaver here," the voice replied.

"Yes doctor, what can I do for you tonight," Ares asked.

"Tonight, is it that late," Weaver asked. "Oh, yeah it is. Oh well, I think I've found something," he said.

"Really, what did you find," Ares asked. His curiosity aroused by the tone in the doctor's voice.

"We've tried to decipher the language on the ship as you know. With a bit of help from some of them on Earth we've discovered that one of the most common symbols on the ship is for Atlantis," Weaver said.

"Atlantis," Ares asked not sure what that had to do with anything.

"Oh, let me explain. There is a legend on Earth about an ancient advanced civilization on Earth. It was destroyed by a great flood and the civilization sank beneath the ocean," Weaver said. "Some of the stories also say that the Atlantians could travel in space."

"You think that Atlantis is what," Ares asked.

"The legend of Atlantis is the report of the thirteenth tribe from Kobol," Weaver said. "The ship we've uncovered is from Kobol or at least it ancestors."

"What's it doing out there," Weaver asked.

"I hope to learn more as we get the ship out of the dirt and power up its systems," Weaver said.

"Power it up," Ares asked.

"Oh yes, the dirt and atmosphere of the planet do not corrode the metals that the ship is made out of. And everything inside was preserved quite well in a sterile environment," Weaver said.

"Okay, keep me informed," Ares said. The doctor said that he would and the link went dead. Ares thought about what he had heard. So the thirteenth tribe of Kobol made it here. But once here what had happened and why was the ship on that planet. Not wanting to try and figure out anything else Ares decided that it was a good time to head to bed.

* * *

Pratt sat in the commander's chair of the Tiger as the ship made its way on the patrol. He was glad that the Argo was back in fighting condition. Both of its landing bays were operational again. They were given top priority in repairs. It was also decided that until the Argo's engines could be upgraded that the Tiger would head out on the patrols.

"Commander, picking up a ship on scanners," Ben said to Pratt.

"Course and speed," Pratt asked.

"Course if for Earth's system," Ben replied. "It should arrive there in a day at its current speed."

"Life forms," Pratt asked.

"Just a second, coming up now," Ben said. "Scanner says its Arbus life signs."

"A scout ship," one of the crewmen asked.

"Possible," Pratt said. "They would know that their station and ships were destroyed so its only logical that you send in something to find out what happened. Get me Commander Ares."

It did not take long until Commander Ares appeared on the line wanting to know what was going on. Pratt briefly described the situation of what they had found.

"Ares, I was thinking of attacking the scout before it could get near enough to scan the system," Pratt said.

"I think that would probably be wise. We don't need for them to know our forces," Ares said.

"We'll take care of commander," Pratt said.

"I'll be waiting for word on what happened," Ares said as the link went dead.

"Red alert, negative shield now," Pratt said. The familiar red lighting bathed the ship's interior in red as the crew members raced to their battlestations.

"All pilots have reported to their vipers and are awaiting orders," Ben said.

"Put in an intercept course to the scout ship," Pratt said.

"Course plotted and engaging," Ben said as the Tiger turned to where the scout ship was coming in. "What about the pilots?'

"I want to try and hold off on launching them. If we can attack them before they know we're here it will be a great advantage for us," Pratt said. He really wanted to destroy the scout before it could get a warning off to whatever else was out there.

"Scout ship coming into range commander," the weapons officer said.

"Prepare to fire," Pratt said. He waited a bit longer as the Tiger moved closer.

"Still no sign that we've been detected commander," Ben said. "Range still closing."

Pratt watched as the range number got smaller. As they got closer their weapons would do more damage on the Arbus ship. The two mega turbo lasers were charged and ready.

"Fire," Pratt said.

The two mega turbo lasers opened fire on the scout ship. Both weapons hit the ship causing massive damage. It was not built to come under heavy weapons fire. That and they were taken completely off guard so their shields were down as well.

"Scout ship has taken heavy damage," Ben said.

The other weapon systems also opened fire on the scout ship causing even more damage. It took a few more hits then its engine went critical and exploded taking the ship with it.

"Target destroyed," Ben said.

"Good," Pratt said. It had been a bit easier than he had thought it would have been. "Keep all scanners manned. I have a feeling that we will be seeing more ships in a little while."

"Yes sir," Ben said.

"I'm going to my office to report it in," Pratt said. "Colonel Ben you have the bridge."

Ben acknowledged Pratt's order then took over where Pratt had sat. Pratt walked off the bridge and towards his office.

sssss

Ares sat back down at his desk at the large meeting room. In it were gathered delegates from all over the world. He had just sat back down when another report came to him. He glanced at it and was glad at what it said. The target had been destroyed.

"Commander Ares, you seem to be receiving a lot of messages lately, care to comment on them," one man said.

"If you must know, the Tiger just attacked and destroyed what appears to be an Arbus scout ship heading to Earth," Ares said. "It seems that they are not finished with us."

"So you say," the man said. "I for one still don't trust you and you're mysterious warships."'

Ares rubbed his eyes thinking that he hated politicians. "Believe me or not, that is you're choice sir," Ares said back to him.

Ares listened to Sam and John as they lead the conversation about what the new government should be made up of and what they thought it should not be made up of. It was going to be a long day that was for sure.

Ares thought that each official wanted his part of the world to be the head of the government. It was actually a bit funny if he thought about it. Here they were at war and they wanted control of what was going on. Part of him wanted to just stand up and take over as his military training had trained him to do. He also understood that such an action would probably not be view upon as very friendly.

So he was stuck with sitting here listening to former government officials talking about how important they were. He sighed apparently loud enough for one of them to hear.

"Commander Ares it seems that we're boring you," the man said.

"No, I was just wondering about something more important," Ares said.

"And that would be," the man asked.

"Well, it seems like you forget that Earth is now at war, regardless if there is a government or not. I was more concerned about the next attack and if the current forces can defend you, that's all," Ares said.

"You defeated them once," the man said.

"With surprise on my side, next time it won't be so lucky," Ares said.

"If you say so," the man said.

That course of conversation lead to another discussion of what was going to happen with the military. There was some discussion of where the military would be headquartered and who would run it. Ares decided that this battle he would not get involved in just yet. He would wait until they had more of the government formed before tackling that issue.

End of The Atlantians

Continued in Deceptions


	31. Chapter 31: Deceptions

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Deceptions**

Ares glanced around the bridge glad to be back on the Argo. After a couple of weeks of sitting down in a room full of former government officials was enough to make him begin to go crazy. Now he was finally back where he felt he belonged. The last part of the meeting dealt with who would have the power and how that power would be handled. They were forming a Republic, he considered that probably the best idea.

Ares had fought with the politicians about who would be in charge of the military. Several wanted it to be their military officials. Ares had effectively ended the debate on that one. He would be in charge of it. He was the one with the experience in space combat and tactics. He had argued that putting a person with no experience or abilities in space combat would effectively damage the fighting abilities of the small fleet. That and he was already up to date as to the abilities and capabilities of the current forces.

There had been a reluctant agreement among the officials. Many were not pleased by what Ares had said. Several also wanted to know what his real name was. Ares did not want to get into the fact that he was not from Earth just yet so he sidestepped the issue.

"What is the report Reliy," Ares asked as he took his seat.

"Repairs are done to the landing bays, and we are now fully operational again. We've received the replacement vipers by the Hermes from Centari One," Reliy reported.

"Good, any news about the mysterious ship," Ares asked.

"Nothing yet," Reliy said.

"All right," Ares said. "Any word from the Tiger?"

"It scheduled to return from patrol in a couple of hours," Reliy said. "Also there is a report of the Cheetah and how it is coming along."

"Good, send it up here," Ares said.

He read the report and noticed that the ship was coming along quite well. It was time to be thinking about a crew for the ship. The destroyer would take a compliment of one hundred and fifty men and woman. He now had to get a group of people up to the Hermes and over to Centari One to begin training.

"Get me Centari One," Ares said. He did not have to wait long until the commander of the base appeared on the screen. "Commander, how are the facilities on the base?"

"It's not that crowded as the ships are not in orbit," Jason said as he thought about it.

"Good, I might be sending you some new recruits for the Cheetah," Ares said.

"Understood," Jason said. "I'll begin to make preparations for their arrival."

"Thanks," Ares said as the link went dead only to be replaced with Pratt's face. "Pratt, everything all right?"

"Just reporting in commander," Pratt said. "Haven't seen anything lately since that patrol ship."

"Well keep you're scanners manned. I have a feeling that its only a matter of time until we encounter a new group of Arbus ships," Ares said.

"I will," Pratt said. They both knew that the Arbus were not though with Earth. The only problem was what was going to be the next move and by whom.

* * *

Troy walked down the corridor to his quarters on the Argo. He wondered if Bri was already there. There was a lot that was still going on but a lot had been resolved. He had been back and forth between Earth and Centari One ever since the battle to free Earth had occurred. There was a lot of new information that was going on. He had wanted to stay aboard the Argo if he could as Green leader. Bri had also expressed interest in staying as had Nall. Jax had accepted the position as Red squad leader which would the other squad of the Argo. Gold squad would be the Tiger squad.

Opening the door to the quarters he noticed that Bri was already in there. She was getting ready for bed as she had been on duty while he was gone this time.

"You're back, good," Bri said giving Troy a hug.

"Of course I'm back," Troy said.

"So how are things going," Bri asked.

"Well, the first group for the Cheetah are undergoing training," Troy replied. Fifty people had gone over with him back to Centari One to begin the training for the ship.

"When will the ship be complete," Bri asked wondering when new ships would be introduced to help defend Earth.

"Estimates say that it should be done by the end of the week then its going for its shakedown cruise," Troy said. "They say in about two and a half weeks."

"I'll be ready for it as well," Bri said.

"Yeah, it will certainly help with scouting around instead of using the Tiger," Troy said.

"Any idea as to who will be commanding it," Bri asked.

"Nope, probably someone from Earth, maybe Ben or Reliy," Troy said.

"Get them some experience," Bri said. "Come on, let's get to bed, I'm tired today."

"All right," Troy said.

* * *

"You're doing what," Troy and Bri heard Nall's voice say as they approached the cafeteria of the Argo. They both looked at each other then the door. With a shrug they walked though door to see what was going on. They could see Nall and Rebecca both standing there glaring at each other.

"Hey guys," Bri said with a smile hoping that it might break the spell they were under. Neither of them really acknowledged her which Troy thought was a bit odd.

"So what's going on in here," Troy asked them hoping to get to the bottom of this quickly.

"I want to join the military but mustache head here says that I shouldn't do that," Rebecca said not looking at anyone but Nall.

"It's too dangerous," Nall said looking only at Rebecca.

Bri looked at Nall then at Rebecca for a couple of seconds. She could understand what Rebecca was feeling and why.

"Nall, can I speak with you alone please," Bri said in a sweet voice. Troy heard the tone and almost winced knowing that his wife was up to something now.

"In a moment," Nall said, only to have his ear caught and tugged away from Rebecca. "Hey Bri now isn't the time, let go, ouch!"

"Come along Nall," Bri said, still in that sweet voice leaving Troy and Rebecca standing there.

Troy grabbed a seat then motioned for Rebecca to sit down as well. He had a feeling that he knew what his wife was going to say.

"She really does control him pretty well," Rebecca said.

"Yep, and I think she's on your side as well," Troy said. "I can understand both sides."

Rebecca looked at Troy for a second. "You can," she asked.

"Of course, it's the same thing I would do if Bri wasn't in the military right now. Don't' take it personally that you can't do the job, he just wants you to be safe," Troy said. "That's a sign that he really loves you."

"I know," Rebecca sighed looking at where Bri and Nall were.

"All right Bri what do you want," Nall said taking a glance over to where Rebecca was.

"Nall, I'm in the military as well," Bri said.

"I know," Nall said. "That's different."

"Different, how," Bri asked.

"You can take care of yourself," Nall said.

"So can Rebecca," Bri said. "Give her credit Nall. She wants to help as well."

"But, we could be separated," Nall said.

"I think we can pull the strings to get her assigned to the Argo," Bri said. "And as for separation I have to live with that every time we will go into combat."

"You don't fight fair, anyone ever tell you that," Nall said.

"Nope," Bri said with a smile. "Now come on."

The two of them made their way back to where Troy and Rebecca were sitting down.

"It looks like you got everything settled," Rebecca said.

"Becca, I just want to say you can do what ever you want, I just worry for you that's all," Nall said.

"I know, but I also want to help. That I don't really want to be a pilot either," Rebecca said. "I was thinking more along the lines of flight controller."

"That might work," Nall said, thinking about it for a few seconds. She would be safer on board the ship then in a viper.

Bri's stomach growled making them all look at her. "I guess its time to feed you," Troy said. They got up and headed over to the line.

* * *

Ares sat back in his chair and rubbed his eyes. There was something wrong with what he was reading yet he could not find it. He was going over the reports of what had happened during the entire attack on Earth and the resulting attack by the Argo and Tiger. He threw the papers down on his desk as the door chimed.

"Come," Ares said, as the door opened to reveal Colonel Reliy. The man had been in the military on Earth for the Chinese Navy before retiring a few years ago.

"Something wrong," Reliy asked.

"Yeah, but I don't know what it is," Ares replied.

"Perhaps you should try looking at it upside down or something," Reliy said.

"Interesting, but I doubt it would work," Ares said as he glanced at the mess he had made. He was about to pick it up when he noticed something that he had not before.

"You found something," Reliy asked.

"No, just thought of something, let me ask you, why did you leave the military? It sounded like you had a good job," Ares asked.

"I felt like I was being pushed out, like I didn't fit," Reliy said after a few moments of silence. "Does that make sense?"

"Actually it does," Ares said as the wheels in his head turned.

Reliy could almost see the man thinking about something.

"What are you thinking," Reliy asked.

"The Arbus must have infiltrated the military and political systems on Earth. How I don't know but it does explain why the leadership failed at such a critical time," Ares said. "And if that's the case then they might still be there, watching, waiting and reporting."

"That doesn't sound good," Reliy said.

"Nope, but I have an idea," Ares said as he got up to look at the map. His idea just might work all he had to do was get it going. "Find Captain Troy and Lieutenants Nall and Bri, Commander Pratt and Captain Gunther as well as Doctor Weaver and have them come to my meeting room."

"All right," Reliy replied not sure what was going on. He was sure that he would find out later.

* * *

Commander Pratt walked into the meeting room on board the Argo shortly after the Tiger had returned from its patrol. He noticed that many other officers from the Argo were also there. One thing that did disturb him a bit was the lack of Earth personal in the meeting. There was not one person from Earth here.

"Ares, what's going on," Pratt asked as he took a seat.

"I was looking at the reports of the attack on the Earth by the Arbus and then our attack later on. There is a connection beside the leaders. The Arbus planted spies all over the planet," Ares said.

"But everyone in the leadership tested to be a true human," Nall said.

"True, but what about their aides, the ones who influenced them, who shaped their policies," Ares said. "There is a small army behind each person doing a large load of work. One of them could have influenced enough people to render the governments and military ineffective. Those they could not control they forced out."

"Interesting," Troy replied as he thought about that. "The transport of humans, it could have been a transport of conditioned humans?"

"I thought about that already. It means that we could have a security leak already then," Ares said. "They might know about our base on Centari One. That's why I have a plan. I want them to think that the new base, Alpha One is the main base."

"Alpha One, we don't have a base with that name yet," Bri said.

"Not yet, but we can with Weaver's help," Ares said. "I need for you to construct a large hologram of the base on Centari One, along with the orbiting dockyard and double it."

"A hologram base," Troy asked.

"A bit, I do want to begin construction on a new base anyways," Ares said.

"And by touting it as a main base it would attack attention," Nall said.

"Right," Ares said looking at Weaver.

"It very possible, I will need a power source though," Weaver said.

"The Tylium mining operations have started so fuel should not be a problem," Ares said.

"Let me get to work on it then," Weaver said.

"All right everyone, keep your eye and ears open for anything that might be suspicious," Ares told the group before dismissing the meeting.

* * *

Weaver walked up to the bridge where Commander Ares was. He had just come back aboard the Argo after spending a lot of time at his lab on Centari One. They had worked around the clock but had managed to reproduce the image of the base and the space station. It was going to need some power to do but nothing major like he had first calculated.

Ares noticed Weaver walking onto the bridge and walked over to where the man was. Ares noted that it looked like the man had not slept at all since the meeting.

"Commander, we've finished with the holograms," Weaver said.

"Good, would the Tiger be able to power the hologram," Ares asked.

Weaver thought about it for a few seconds before replying. "I believe so," he finally said.

"Good, I'm putting Captain Gunther in charge of the Cheetah for now," Ares said. "Next I need for you to develop a hologram of the Argo, Tiger, and Cheetah. That way I can give the illusion of a larger fleet if needed. It just might be enough to swing an advantage in our favor."

"All right," Weaver said wondering when he would be able to get back to the mysterious ship he was working on.

"First though get some sleep, you look exhausted," Ares said.

"I will," Weaver said. He was already going to be heading to his quarters to sleep for a while.

"Oh, good job doctor," Ares said as Weaver walked off the bridge.

* * *

Gunther walked onto the bridge of the Cheetah. The destroyer had undergone a shakedown cruise to make sure that everything was working just fine. There was nothing wrong with any of the systems so far which happened to be a good thing. That meant that there would be no delays in getting the ship into action.

"Colonel Gunther, glad that you could make it aboard so quickly," a man off to his right said.

"Thank you," Gunther said. "Captain Rand, right."

"Yep," Rand replied. "I hear that we're going on a mission," he said with some excitement in his voice.

"Well I would be too excited, but yeah we already have a mission. We're heading to Alpha One Base to provide base defense until they finish their destroyer," Gunther said.

"Alpha One," Rand asked not having heard that base designation before.

"Of course, the main base where everything will be coordinated from in terms of the war effort," Gunther said. "Centari One was never designed to be such a base, just a beginning."

"I see," Rand said. "You guys sure planned ahead for all of this."

"Nah, just luckily that all," Gunther replied.

He felt bad lying a bit to the man but he knew the man did not need to know. If the commander's plan was to be successful then everyone had to believe it. The Tiger would already be set up to begin the plan and have the holograms set up to make it look like a base was there. It was a bit of a risk in case the Arbus did not find out about it but it might also take heat off the fact that they were going to attack Earth again.

It also meant that if the Arbus attacked they would be expecting one destroyer defending the base. The Tiger would be in the space dock hologram for a surprise. The other thing that Ares was hoping for was such a tactic would make the Arbus think twice before attacking Centari One before it was ready to defend itself. Of course all this was dependent on the fact that there were spies in their midst.

That was something else, the communication officers were all from the Argo to monitor any transmissions coming from either ship. If one happened then they would know that someone aboard the ship was a spy for the Arbus.

* * *

Troy walked into his and Bri's temporary quarters on board the Tiger. They were part of an expanded fighter compliment on board the Tiger.

"Troy, why are we here," Bri asked.

"The fewer people from Earth on board the Tiger for this mission the better. Commander Ares wants to make sure that the hologram technology remains a secret for now. And the people he can fully trust are those who came from the Colonies," Troy said.

"Lucky me," Bri replied dryly.

"It's just like back home," Troy said. "People switch ships all the time depending on the mission."

"Really," Bri asked. The Argo had been her first ship. After her training she was to head to the Atlantia but then had been approached for a top secret mission.

"Yeah, I served aboard the Pegasus, Galactica and Pacifica. I just got lucky in knowing the Commander on the Pacifica for this mission," Troy said.

"Oh, well I still like the Argo better," Bri said.

"Well we could get a place on Earth for when we are there to relax and maybe retire on," Troy said.

"What about the Colonies," she asked.

"I imagine that we'll go back someday. Right now we have a mess on our hands," Troy replied.

"This was war with the Arbus," Bri said. "Any idea as to why they might be attacking Earth and everything else that they are doing?"

"No, I've received nothing else," Troy said. He had not had a real important vision in a while. There was always the minor ones of flashes of friends in certain places but nothing that was very important.

"Oh well, we'll figure it out eventually," Bri said. "Come on, I'm a bit tired right now."

sssss

Pratt sat down on the bridge of the Tiger. Looking around he really was amazed at how much like the Argo it was. There were a bit fewer consoles for fighter operations but that was to be expected. More instruments were geared for the main weapons of the ship.

"Sir we've arrived at the planet," Ben said.

"Good, put us in orbit around the planet," Pratt said. "Activate the generators."

He glanced outside the window as a structure appeared on the planet's surface then as a hologram enveloped the Tiger as well. The structure on the planet's surface would be the base and the Tiger was inside the hologram of the dockyard.

Pratt hoped that the hologram worked as well as Ares was hoping. Just one battle like this would make the Arbus think twice before attacking a base of theirs. It also might make the Arbus hesitate to look around for anything else making Centari One a perfect place for the major operations.

"Sir, new signal reported by the computers," Ben said looking down.

Pratt looked at her first with concern. Then he realized that the latest news from the colonies had arrived.

"That's just some local news for us from the Argo," Pratt said as he pulled up the report. There was nothing in it that required any immediate attention. The war was still going on and there was nothing major going on.

"Is there anything that we should know," Ben asked.

"No, pretty boring," Pratt said. "Let's keep an eye out on the scanners for anything unusual in the area. We don't want to be surprised by anything."

The Tiger's scanner kept a continuous look out of the surrounding area for what ever might appear. There was nothing at the moment that would require anything. Pratt did not think that there would be until the Cheetah entered the area for patrol sake.

* * *

Gunther sat down on the commander's chair of the Cheetah as it approached the new Alpha One base. Most of his crew was made up of new recruits. There were several from the Argo but Ares had wanted more recruits from Earth. That and there was the fact that there might be a spy on board his ship. That was something that he was sure he did not like.

Part of him hoped that they would be able to spring the trap and another part of him did not. It was something that was a bit nerve-wracking about it. That and the commander had 'leaked' information about the Alpha One base to others with the knowledge to keep it secret.

Gunther figured that if that did not earn something of a retaliation from the Arbus then they would really have to wait. Part of him hoped that this provoked a response from the Arbus which they could battle one on one.

"All right everyone, listen up. I know that many of you are new on board and I know that you all will do your best. I want us all to stay alert while the base finishes work on the destroyer. We are going to be the bases main defense while the Argo provides defense for Earth," Gunther said to the group.

He wondered if the Arbus would even attack this fake base. Ares was trying his hardest to make sure that if the enemy attacked then it would be at his choosing and not the enemies. It was a sound tactic to employ Gunther thought to himself. If you could control where the enemy attacked then you would have an advantage over the enemy. Now they would just have to sit and wait to see if the Arbus fell for it.

* * *

A single figure made its way down the street towards a small shack that seemed to be unimportant. Walking up to the door the figure looked around to see if anyone had followed him. Then he knocked on the door in a special sequence. The door opened and the man walked into the shack.

"What news," another figure said.

"Whoever helped attack the Arbus have several bases. Their main one is one called Alpha One," the man said.

"Alpha One, do you know where it's located," the figure asked.

"Yeah, they were not being too secretive about that with us," the man said. "Here's the information," he said handing him a data crystal.

"Excellent," the figure said. "Head back."

"Right," the man said then walked out and back to where he had come from.

The figure held the data crystal in its hand for a few seconds as it pondered the information given to him. This group of Earthlings had more than just one base. That was something that they knew but now they had a location for an attack. His people would be grateful for this.

He hoped that the data on the crystal had what type of defenses the base had at the moment. If the defenses were still being built up then an attack would be very easy for them. The base they called Alpha One would be destroyed. He decided that he would let his strategist decide what to do with the information and if an attack was wise at the moment. He walked over pulled a switch revealing a secret elevator which he used to descend to a base they had.

On board the Argo not much later the operator saw that a message was being sent out from Earth in the direction of where the Arbus ships had come from.

Ares sat in his chair knowing that the plan was probably working. The scanner operator was working to narrow down where the signal came from. If they could find and neutralize any remaining ways for them to get communications out then it would be harder for the Arbus later on.

Ares sent a signal to Pratt to remain on alert. An Arbus attack could be headed their way any day now.

End of Deceptions

Continued in The Trap is Sprung


	32. Chapter 32: The Trap is Sprung

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**The Trap is Sprung**

Weaver glanced at his findings once more. Again the results were the same as before. This information was not that good he thought to himself. He needed to inform Commander Ares about what he had just found out. He quickly walked over to his communicator to get the commander on the line.

"Commander Ares," Ares voice said.

"Commander, sorry if I interrupted you, but I have something that I want to inform you about," Weaver said.

"No problem, what's wrong," Ares said having a feeling that there was a problem with something.

"Is the S-metal," Weaver said.

"S-metal," Ares replied.

"Sorry, stealth metal," Weaver corrected himself. "We've been running a lot of tests on it lately to find out more about it. Well anyway we discovered something interesting. It seems that there is two different strengths to the metal."

"Two," Ares said not sure that he quite understood.

"Yes, the S-metal we used to cover the Argo was of a different grade than what we used for the Tiger and Cheetah," Weaver said. "Both grades are weaker than the armor that the Argo is made out of."

"I see," Ares said.

"The S-metal covering the Argo can easily be damaged. The grade used on the Tiger has a strength of about three-quarters that of the normal armor of the Argo," Weaver said to Ares.

"That leaves us with a bit of a dilemma," Ares said. If the Arbus discovered a way to defeat the S-metal then the Tiger would be more susceptible for damage than the Argo would be.

"The S-metal covering the Argo is even weaker than that," Weaver said.

"I see," Ares replied. "I'll talk it over with some others that might alter our strategy. Keep working to see if anything else comes up."

"Yes sir," Weaver said as the line went dead. The strength of the S-metal was not real good for the armor of a ship that was going to be taking damage.

He walked over to the metal and began to look for ways that he could perhaps strengthen the metal up to an armor quality. That would be really useful.

* * *

Pratt sat on the bridge of the Tiger still waiting for an attack that in a way they all hoped would come. He knew that they would not be able to keep the hologram doing forever without raising suspicion of the crew of the Cheetah. He had heard from Ares that they were working on figuring out where the signal had come from. They had a general location but that was still several hundred square miles of Earth to cover. That was not going to be easy.

"Scanner contact, bearing one eight six point five and twelve degrees," the scanner operator said.

Pratt turned to look at the scanner operator when Renee made the comment. The battle was about to happen. He quickly got on the communicator to inform Commander Ares about what was going on.

Ares asked to be kept informed about what happened during the battle. The Argo would not be able to come to the base in time to interfere in anything that was going on. Pratt understood that then got a conformation about how many ships were headed their way.

"Three commander," Renee replied as she checked her scanner again.

"All right, all hands red alert, prepare to drop the hologram on my signal," Pratt said. The familiar red light bathed the interior of the ship indicating that the ship was now on alert.

* * *

Bri flopped down on the bed in her and Troy's quarters. Her head was off the edge of the bed and she was looking at Troy upside down.

"This is boring," she said as she looked at Troy.

"I know, but what did you expect," Troy said. "A pilot's life, long boring periods followed up with intense pressure to stay alive. It's how we live Bri."

"I know. It's just no one ever told me about things like this," she said flipping over. "There is a lot to do but it just get's repetitive after a while."

"You could be on the Cheetah. Gunther has been running drills all the time to make sure that the ship is ready for combat," Troy said.

"Yeah, true," Bri said.

Troy was about to say something else when the red alert sounded on the ship.

"Well you wanted some excitement," Troy said to her. "I guess you're going to get it."

"Yep," she said as she hopped up from the bed. "Come on, we've got work to do."

The two of them quickly ran to the hangar where their vipers were waiting. In the hanger it was a bit over crowded by so many people but they got the word out that three Arbus ships were on their way. The launching sequence was also worked out as to who would be heading out first.

Troy and Bri were in the first wave launched because of their rank in the squad. They were handed their helmets and headed towards their ships.

* * *

"Incoming ships, three of them sir," Rand said from where he was sitting.

"Three, all right let me inform the base," Gunther said switching over to the ship to ship Alpha line. "Alpha One this is Cheetah, we are currently showing three incoming Arbus ships."

"Roger Cheetah, we have them as well. Everything is ready here," Gunther heard Renee's voice say over the channel. He knew that it was from the Tiger but anyone else listening would not know that.

Gunther then turned to look at everyone to see how they were doing. They all knew that the Arbus were on their way and many of them thought that they were the only defense of the base.

"Sound red alert," Gunther said to the crew. Now would be the time to see if this crew would be able to work together as a fighting unit.

"Red alert everyone," Rand said as the ship went to battlestations.

"Plot an intercept course for the enemy ships and engage," Gunther said.

"Course plotted and engaged," Rand said as the Cheetah turned to intercept the incoming ships. "Does the base have any other defenses?"

"A squadron of vipers which should be launching any moment now," Gunther said.

"Just wondering if we going to be doing this alone or not," Rand said. Personally he was glad to hear that the base had a bit more defense than just the Cheetah. The vipers were quick and powerful and he hoped they would turn the tide against three Arbus ships.

* * *

"Cheetah is moving to intercept," Renee said as she watched the scanner.

"Good," Pratt said as he glanced at the scanner as well. Gunther was performing as an escort should. He was going to engage as far out as possible to prevent damage to the base. It would lull the Arbus right into the trap for sure. "Prepare to launch first wave of vipers."

Renee waited until she heard Pratt tell her launch the vipers. Looking at the screen she watched as she gave the instructions for each viper to launch. It would be an interesting experience to fly though the hologram as the vipers launched. Once the first wave was launched she reported that and waited for the next instructions.

Pratt sat there waiting to see when or if he should drop the hologram at all. The Cheetah was now engaged with the three Arbus ships. The Arbus ships had better weapons but the Cheetah was fast and quick. That and the S-metal made it hard for enemy scanners to lock onto.

"Two Arbus ships are breaking away from the fight and heading our way. Green squad has engaged," Renee said.

"Good," Pratt said but he knew that they would have to probably engage the enemy ships soon. "Prepare to disengage the holograms."

"Waiting sir," the reply came.

Pratt watched as the two Arbus ships continued to approach their position. The Cheetah was holding its own against the one Arbus ship it was fighting.

"Within main gun range," Renee said.

"Drop hologram, all power to weapons," Pratt said. "Set course to engage, launch the rest of the vipers."

The hologram of the ships docks and what appeared to be a base on the planet's surface suddenly disappeared from sight leaving only a black warship which was now moving towards the two Arbus ships. The two ships were now without their targets which vanished from sight. The Tiger quickly opened fire now that its engines were back to full power.

The first ship took a direct hit before it could even open fire. The second wave of vipers launched from the hangar of the Tiger doubling the number that were out there. The vipers had orders to engage any enemy fighters which were being launched from the Arbus ships as well.

"Continue firing," Pratt said as the Tiger opened fire once more on the Arbus ship.

* * *

"Captain," Rand said to Gunther. Two Arbus ships are making a run for the base.

Gunther thought about it for a second then realized that they would not be able to continue to engage all three. "Let them go, concentrate on this one. Try and disable it so it's out of the fight," Gunther said thinking like he would if this was a real situation and that base was real.

"But captain," Rand said.

"If we try and fight all three at once then we will lose. Knock this one out while we can will give us better odds to beat them," Gunther said.

"All right," Rand said. "Viper squad coming in to help. Engaging enemy fighters. Hold on, picking up a strange reading from the base. What's going on?"

Gunther figured that the Tiger was probably dropping the hologram. "The base was a hologram by the Tiger. She's now engaging the other two Arbus ships," Gunther said to Rand.

"What," Rand asked not sure what was going on.

"We set a trap for the Arbus and they fell for it Rand," Gunther said.

"A trap," Rand said not sure about what he had just heard.

"Yes, there are still some Arbus on Earth and maybe some of us helping them out which we are trying to flush out," Gunther said.

"I see, laying a trap for some information makes them think twice before attacking," Rand said.

"Right," Gunther said. "Now continue firing we still have to beat them."

The Cheetah continued to fire at the Arbus ship that it was engaged with. The battle was only half won now that the trap had been sprung. Now they had to defeat them.

* * *

Pratt watched on the scanner as the Tiger approached the Arbus attack ships. With the confusion of the base suddenly missing the Tiger was able to fire off several shots at the attackers before any retaliation was taken. The damage to the Arbus ship would only help them in the coming battle.

"Come around and engage again," Pratt said as he had to make sure that the Tiger's main weapons were able to fire. He quickly glanced to see how the Cheetah was doing and was relieved when he noticed that the ship was still there.

The two Arbus ships were now firing at the Tiger making the battle a real battle. The viper squadrons were fully engaged with the Arbus fighters to prevent them from attacking the Tiger as well. Now the battle was a slug it out type after the initial surprise by the Tiger.

The main weapons of the Tiger opened fire again on the Arbus ships. It was reported as a direct hit on one of the Arbus ships. This was a bit of good news for Pratt. He really hoped that the battle would end real quick before anything else could happen. He also knew that there was still a lot to do to win this battle. He could take nothing for granted even though he had a good feeling about the battle.

"Sir, one of the Arbus ships has received critical damage," Renee said.

The Arbus ship exploded from the damage it had taken from the Tiger's main weapons. The ship that the Cheetah was engaged with also had taken a lot of damage.

"Sir, the Arbus ships are retreating," Renee said.

"Good," Pratt said. "Let them go," he ordered. It was part of the plan. They wanted the Arbus to know about their hologram technology. It meant that the Arbus would think twice about attacking a base that had been set up.

"Let them go," Renee asked wanting confirmation.

"Yes, we want them to know about this battle," Pratt said. "It might give us more time to produce some weapons to battle them with."

They had destroyed one ship but Pratt could not help but wonder how large of a military did the Arbus have. What type of ships had they not encountered yet and were the ships classified as 'attack ships' the best that the Arbus had. He had a feeling that these were only questions that would be answered after a long war if ever.

"Captain Gunther, report," Pratt said as he opened up a communications to the Cheetah.

"We seemed to come though fine. The Arbus ship we were engaged with has retreated commander," Gunther replied.

"Good what about damage," Pratt asked.

"Nothing major, we should be at full power in about an hour or so," Gunther said.

"All right, let's make our way back to Earth," Pratt said.

"Not Centari One," Gunther said. He had been under the impression that they would be heading back to the base.

"No, Ares is going to have the Argo there, we're going to be support for Earth," Pratt replied.

"Understood," Gunther said as he turned to give orders to head back to Earth.

"When we get back to Earth you're to report to the Tiger for debriefing. We'll want to know how the ship held up under the battle," Pratt said.

"I'll get to work on it commander," Gunther said as the line when blank. "Have we recovered all vipers?"

"The last ones are landing now," Renee said.

"Good, once all the vipers are aboard set course for Earth," Pratt said. "I'll be in my office."

* * *

Bri climbed down from her viper after landing letting the maintenance crew work on her viper. She did not think that anything had happened to it but she felt better when the crew went over it anyways. The battle had been quite short in her mind but then again most of the battles she had been part of lasted longer than this one. She figured that Troy would classify this battle as more of a skirmish than a battle. This one had a purpose behind it though.

Troy met her as she walked onto the elevator to head back up to the pilot's debriefing room. Part of that was to figure out who survived and whose viper would require more repairs and other general things. They would also go over whatever else was needed.

"That was a bit shorter than I expected," Bri said.

"This was more of a shock battle than anything else," Troy said. "Commander Ares wanted to shock the Arbus when they attacked hoping that it would prevent them from attacking again real soon."

"I know," Bri said. "Do you think it worked?"

"That is something that we'll have to wait to find out," Troy said. "I just hope that everything else goes like this mission did."

"That would be nice," Bri said. She did not think that it would but a person never knew when things would go their way. She had a feeling that Troy felt the same way. Now they would wait to see where they were needed next.

sssss

Nall walked into the room where the new recruits were waiting for him. He was going to be instructing them on the basics of Colonial technology to get around. Looking around the room he quickly found who he was looking for. Rebecca was sitting there patiently waiting for him to show up. She smiled at him which he found himself returning rather quickly.

"I wish to thank you all for volunteering. Without any of you nothing that you see would have been built," Nall said looking at them all. "I can't explain where all the technology came from and I can't tell you why some things are being done a certain way just know that it's done that way for a reason."

Commander Ares and a few others had decided that they would keep where they were from a secret for now. Earth was at war against a race called the Arbus, not the Cylons. Ares did want to keep things as much the same as possible in terms of technology for when the Arbus war was over and they might be helping against the Cylons.

"First off you will notice that the computers on board the ships seem old or slow; there is a reason for that. Many systems are not joined, for example fire control and damage control are on two separate systems," Nall said.

"That sounds like a waste of work," one person said. "If you multi-task things one person could do the job of several making things run more effectively."

"Yes and no," Nall said. "You also set yourself up for a computer attack. If that happens then the entire ship is down and you dead," Nall replied looking at the man. "For now just trust me when I say that there is a reason for all of this."

"Okay, seems like a waste to me," the man said. "You could have ships with less men working on them."

"Right now we have a ship about a mile long that needs only five hundred people to operate it," Nall said. "Doesn't sound like a lot to me."

The man sat there for a moment thinking about that. He knew that most military bases needed more than that to operate and wondered what type of ship this was going to be.

"All right, most of you will be serving aboard the destroyer Puma. It's under construction right now. A few of you will be taken to the other ships, Argo, Tiger or Cheetah," Nall said.

The next part was to separate the group into their parts where they would learn the specifics to what job they were going to be doing. He would be helping to train the new pilots and would not be around Rebecca. She was the only one heading off to train for flight control. That was a position that the commander was guarding very carefully along with any bridge jobs until they could figure out who was a spy and who was not.

* * *

Ares walked to the small building. He had been on board the shuttle when he had received a message from Sam to come down to the planet's surface. The new government wanted to meet with him right away. Ares was not sure that he liked what was going to happen.

"Commander Ares," a young woman greeted him as he walked into the building. "They are waiting for you, go on in," she said to him.

Ares walked in and noticed that everyone was in the room. The air seemed to hang pretty think in the room. A quick glance at Sam and Jack and he noticed their faces. They were not pleased at all with what was probably going to happen.

"Ah, thank you for coming so quickly Commander Ares," the new President said. He had been elected by the parliament until such a time could come that the people could vote on one.

Ares gave a nod to the man and waited. He wanted to know what was going on without making too much of a scene.

"The parliament has decided to name the chief of staff for the military along with a council to oversee everything that the military is doing," the president said. "Many of us do not trust the military especially after what has happened lately. We feel that it's in our best position to name people outside the military to oversee it."

Ares was not sure if he had heard correctly. He was also not sure that such a move was wise either. That and there were many secrets that had to be kept from them.

"We also would like to replace you as the head of operations with General Pakrov," the president said.

Ares' eyebrows shot up at that. There was still a lot left for him to do and to prepare Earth for. Now they were going to jeopardize everything.

"Does the general have experience in handling starships in combat," Ares asked.

"No but that should not be a problem commander," the President said.

"And did this general do anything when the Arbus invaded Earth," Ares asked.

"Only what he was told to do," the president said. "He will be given orders by the military council."

"I assure you commander, I will do everything I can," a man said walking into the center of the room. Ares could only guess that this was General Pakrov.

"And this military council," Ares asked.

"Made up of five of our most intelligent people," the president said.

"No offence mister president, but I've learned that the smartest are not always the best," Ares said.

"Nonsense, they know what's best for us," the president said.

"And was this unanimous," Ares asked.

"No," Sam said from where he was. "In fact it barely passed and I'm still not sure it's wise."

"Senator you've had your say," the president said.

"And the people you've selected on the council want us to talk with the Arbus," Sam said.

"They assure me that the Arbus are only misunderstood senator," the president said.

Ares narrowed his eyes at the man. "Are you saying that you intend to talk with them," Ares asked.

"But of course, it's what any intelligent peace-loving man would do," the president said.

"And if they attack will you give permission to return fire or for them to hold fire while the Arbus destroys the fleet," Ares said his voice rising a bit.

"Please, the Arbus are obviously intelligent beings as we are," the president said. "You are dismissed commander. This is how it's going to be whether you like it or not."

With one last glare at the President he walked out of the room. There was a lot to do and he had to start now. He walked to the shuttle pilot and ordered him to get him up to the Argo quickly.

Once on board the Argo he quickly made preparations for what he had to do. "Colonel Reliy, I want you to prepare to head to the Tiger, you'll be in charge over there. I'm making some quick changes to the personal on board the ships."

"Very well commander," Reliy said.

"What's going on," a young man named Zac said. He was from the colonies so Ares knew that he was all right.

"I will tell you later," Ares said. "Right now I have to move quickly."

* * *

"Captain Troy come in," Pratt said. "I have something strange. We're being recalled to the Argo for some reason."

"Strange," Troy said. "I don't know of anything that would make you be recalled back to the Argo."

"I know, I don't like this," Pratt said as he handed over a list to Troy.

"Interesting," Troy said as he looked over the list. Everyone who had been from the Colonies was being recalled to the Argo and anyone from Earth was being taken off the Argo, except for a few people. He noticed that Rebecca's name was on the list to stay with the Argo.

"I've just talked with Gunther. He got a recall list as well," Pratt said. "I talked with Ares for a second but he said that he would say why only when everyone was there."

"Well then, I guess we should get going. The quicker we do this the quicker we find out what's going on," Troy said.

* * *

"Commander," Renee said from her familiar seat on the Argo to Ares. "The last shuttle has landed all transfers complete.

"Good, set course for Centari One for now," Ares said and engage.

The Argo turned and to everyone at Earth it looked like the battlestar was headed to Centari One. Ares then went to the internal ship communicator.

"Attention, this is Commander Ares. I know that many of you have questions about why I called you all back. The Earth government has replaced me with a council of non-military personal and put another person in charge of operations. The new military council's belief is that the Arbus are a peaceful race who is misunderstood. They will be meeting with them for talks," Ares said to the crew. "I don't trust the Arbus and will not subject my crew, friends and who I consider family to such a thing."

People looked at each other as they listened to what the commander was saying. Most thought the same way. The Arbus was not a race to be trusted. Many had seen the killing rooms that the Arbus had used and could not understand why the new Earth government was thinking the way they were.

"We're going into hiding where we can keep an eye on things from a distance. Our mission still has not changed," Ares said reminding them of their original mission. "I won't abandoned Earth either just because of a few idiots."

Troy looked at Bri who looked back at him. He shrugged his shoulders at that. It was something that he had not seen yet in his visions and one that he knew in his mind would not last long.

As the Argo passed the outer part of Earth's solar system it made a turn. It would be hours before anyone knew that they were not going to arrive at Centari One. By then space would hide the battlestar very effectively while it waited in the shadows for the next phase of the war.

End of The Trap is Sprung

Continued in The Deadly Meetings


	33. Chapter 33: Deadly Meetings

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Deadly Meetings**

General Pakrov sat at his desk going over everything that he had. There were stacks of information that went beyond what he could even imagine. He thought about what had gone on with everything ever since the invasion of the Arbus. He was not sure if what they were doing was the best thing. He wanted to do his best and at the time the military council had seemed like a good things but now he was not sure.

"General," his secretary said over the intercom. "A member of the council is here to see you."

Pakrov sighed knowing what the man was here for. They had lost contact with the Argo shortly after he became commander of the fleet. Now they did not know where the ship was or why Commander Ares had decided to take the ship. The council member walked into Pakrov's office without any permission which did not make Pakrov happy.

"General, I assume that you are working on the whereabouts of the rogue ship Argo and its commander, Ares," the man said without so much of a hello.

"I don't have the resources to conduct a search right now and protect both Centari One and Earth," Pakrov said.

"The Arbus are not our true enemies general. Think about it, why would an intelligent race attack us. It had to be some sort of internal attack to play on our emotions in letting the military and space exploration get greater attention. It's only obvious because of the military's lack of involvement during the so-called invasion," the man said ruffling Pakrov's nerves. "Now you are ordered to begin searching for the Argo at once."

With that the man turned and walked out of the office leaving Pakrov behind fuming. He said several things in his native Russian tongue which would have made a sailor blush. With a sigh he pushed the button to get the captain of the Cheetah on the line.

"Captain Reliy here," the voice said over the intercom.

"Captain, I'm getting pressure to have a ship look for the Argo. Do you think that you can look a little bit around the system," Pakrov said.

"You mean look like I'm searching for the Argo without leaving where I am," Reliy said wanting to make sure that he had the correct orders.

"Yeah, can you do it," Pakrov asked.

"I think so," Reliy said.

"Do it," Pakrov said.

"Yes sir," Reliy said as the intercom went dead.

Pakrov looked back down at the papers muttering again as he wished he knew what was really going on. There was a report of an ancient spaceship on Centari One that was somehow linked with Atlantis, the ancient Egyptians and another place that he was not familiar with, Kobol.

Then he also had to worry about the Arbus and what they wanted. He was somehow supposed to protect Earth from this alien group which he was not sure if those in charge took the threat seriously. During the invasion he had been handcuffed by orders from above. It had only been after the battle in space and a confirmation that military units in America were fighting back did he order the units under him into action. He had been the only Russian general to order his forces into combat. The rest had mutinied against their leaders. He just wished he understood what was going on.

* * *

"Senator Sam, a word with you," a voice said from behind Sam. He turned to see the President coming his way.

"Yes mister President," Sam said.

"I just got word from that the Arbus wish to meet with us to talk," the President said.

Sam's eyebrow rose with that comment. He was a bit shocked that the Arbus had been in touch with them already. It was almost as if they knew who was in charge and who was not.

"I would like for you to go meet with them. I've talked with the military council and they are going to send all three ships to the meeting site," the President said to Sam.

"Isn't that dangerous," Sam asked.

"Nope, we have everything worked out. The council assures me that this can be worked out peacefully," the President told him.

"And if I heard correctly last the Argo could not be found," Sam said. He recalled what he had heard about that. Commander Ares had recalled every Colonial back to the Argo and left. Sam could only hope that they had not returned to the Colonies.

"Yes, and they are in direct violation of a superior's orders," the President said.

Sam mentally rolled his eyes at that comment. The President had no power over them at all but very few actually knew that.

"They are also going to be charged with stealing government property along with anything else we can think of," the President said.

"Not likely," Sam muttered.

"What was that," the President asked.

"You're right," Sam said. "So when should I get ready to leave and what ship will I be on?"

"You'll be on the Tiger and you'll meet with the representatives at a small planet that I'm told supports life," the President said. "You'll leave within the hour to get there on time."

"Very well then," Sam said turning to leave. He did not have a good feeling about this.

* * *

Sam walked into the general's office after being told he could go in. The general was sitting there with a lot of paper on his desk and looked like he was trying to understand a lot of it.

"Senator Sam, what can I do for you," Pakrov asked.

"I was reading your reports on what happened during the invasion," Sam said. What he had read had earned him a bit of respect with Sam.

"Did you find anything interesting," Pakrov asked.

"Actually yes I did," Sam said. "You wanted to fight back from the beginning and were told not to. Doesn't that sound a bit strange to you," Sam asked the general. He had talked with Ares a bit about this type of thing. They had both come to the conclusion that there had to be spies among the leadership.

"I don't know. I'm not sure if anything makes any sense anymore," Pakrov said.

"What I'm about to tell you can't be repeated to anyone," Sam said. "You will never be able to control the crew of the Argo. They do have their own mission."

"They started all of this then," Pakrov asked hoping that he was not going to hear what he thought the senator was going to say.

"No, but they are not from Earth. I'm sure that you've run across a name called Cylons in that stack," Sam said watching the general nod his head. "They are another enemy that they were fighting. They came to us for help with that battle. It was just a large coincidence that the Arbus attacked when they did."

"Then they might have headed back home," Pakrov said.

"Maybe, but I doubt it," Sam said.

"And with that stealth metal it will be very hard to find them," Pakrov said.

"Right," Sam replied. "I do have some reservations about this meeting though," Sam said to him.

"I know," Pakrov said.

"I do have an idea though," Sam said running an idea by the general.

* * *

"Commander, more signals coming from Earth," Renee said.

"Have you been able to pinpoint the location," Ares asked.

The Argo was just outside the orbit of Pluto as it waited and watched. So far the signals from Earth and back had increased ever since the Argo had left. Ares had a feeling that they were Arbus in nature and that the increase of signals meant nothing but bad news.

"We're picking up another signal. It's Senator Sam," Renee said. "Compressed file being sent."

Ares thought about whether or not he should open the file or not. On one hand he did trust the senator but without any real knowledge he did not know. He finally called Weaver up from his lab. Once the doctor was up there they hooked up an Earth computer the transferred the file there. It would be separate from the rest of the ship in case the file was dangerous.

"Interesting," Weaver said as he unzipped the file. "It appears to be a document along with several maps."

Ares looked it over quickly then scanned the document. It did not take him long to understand what was happening. He looked at the Argo's navigation map then at the times that were given.

"Set course for these coordinates maximum speed," Ares said.

"What's wrong commander," Pratt asked.

"It seems that they are going to be meeting the Arbus for talks but Sam doesn't think that it is a wise thing to do," Ares said.

"Can't say I blame him," Pratt said.

"That's why we're going to check it out ahead of time," Ares said.

The Argo turned in the direction of the meeting place. Its main engines powered up as it accelerated to its maximum speed.

* * *

Sam walked to the shuttle on board the Tiger. It had been a couple of days since he had been told that he would be meeting with the Arbus envoy. It was something that he was not looking forward to at all. There were also several members of the military council along with him, General Pakrov and two other senators' handpicked by the President.

He had talked a bit with the others just to gauge what they thought. Most thought that the war against the Arbus had happened by misunderstanding and that this talk would put things back on the right path. Sam was not so sure but he would go with it hoping that the Argo was somewhere out there waiting to intervene if something happened.

"Senator, the shuttle is waiting for you," the pilot said to him.

"Thank you," Sam replied. He then walked over to where his jacket was and put it on. This meeting would probably determine if the Earth was at war or not. He also had a bad feeling about the meeting. The entire space force here except for the Argo. With a deep breath he walked out to see what would happen next.

* * *

"Commander, several shuttles have transferred from the Tiger and are making their way to the planet's surface," Renee said.

"Thank you," Ares said. They had arrived not much longer than the Tiger and Cheetah but did arrive before the Arbus fleet. They had watched as the fleet had dispersed a bit behind different natural moons.

He had the Argo behind another moon that the Arbus were not using. He also knew a trap when he saw one and this was a trap. The ship was on yellow alert and ready to go to red alert at a moment's notice.

Ares had enough time to go over everything with all the leaders on the ship to make sure that the battle plan was ready. No one was sure if the other two ships would help out even when the fighting began. It was something that they would find out soon enough.

"I want to know the moment when the other ships move out of their hiding spots," Ares said.

"Yes sir," the reply came. Ares was not worried about how his crew would handle the situation. He just had to make sure that when the Arbus sprung their trap that they actually attacked.

One thing he did not want to do was attack when nothing was going to happen. Now he only had to wait to see what the real plan was.

* * *

Sam stepped off the shuttle on into a strange alien world. Beside him stood General Pakrov and one of the military council members. An alien shorter than he was and looking everything like many of the sketches of aliens approached him.

"If you would follow me," the alien said in a tinny voice. He led them to a room where several chairs and a long table were. Sam could only think that it was for the meeting. A few seconds later the door opened and the rest of the group walked in.

Sam walked over to a chair and sat down in it. It was actually the right size for him which made his wonder about everything. There was something in the room that just did not sit well with him for some reason. He would have to wait to see if what he was thinking turned out to be true or not.

The other door opened and in walked in several Arbus people. Sam watched as they all looked around. There was something that seemed wrong about it all. Sam glanced around not sure he like any of this. A quick motion by several of the Arbus and the entire room became a war zone.

* * *

"Captain, we have multiple contacts closing in on our position," the scanner operator of the Tiger said to Riley.

"What, how many," Reliy asked wanting to see how many were coming in.

"Scanner indicates six Arbus ships," the reply came.

Reliy knew that this was not good but he had his orders to maintain his position and not do anything threatening. "Do we have contact with General Pakrov," Reliy asked.

"Nothing sir," the communications officer said.

"Then get me Captain Ben," Reliy said. He did not have to wait long until Ben's face appeared on the screen.

"I take it this is about the incoming ships," Ben asked.

"Yeah, I'm not sure that I like this too much," Reliy said. "I want to put up the shields just as a precaution."

"Sounds good," Ben said. "They haven't done anything yet though. Would such an act be considered an act of war though?"

"I don't know," Reliy said. "Just that they had so many ships hiding makes me wonder if this isn't some sort of trap."

"I doubt it," Ben said. "Remember this is an alien life form. They might do things differently than we do."

The line went dead cutting off the conversation. Reliy was still feeling a bit nervous about this. He considered his options quickly.

"Sound a battle drill," Reliy said. "Call it a test once everyone is at their stations," he told the crew. There was a moment's hesitation before the red alert was sounded. People rushed to their battlestations which is where Reliy wanted his men.

* * *

Sam had managed to avoid the first round of fire from the Arbus and worked his way under the table to where one of the Arbus was standing. He was busy firing and did not notice Sam by his feet.

With a quick jab he took the Arbus down from a standing position. The Arbus had dropped his weapon which took a lucky bounce right towards Sam. In a quick motion he picked it up and fired at the alien which slumped back down. Sam quickly turned his new weapon on the others in the room.

Sam was grateful that there were only three others and the firefight was over quickly. Getting up he looked around to see who else had survived.

"What the hell was that," Sam heard General Pakrov say as he slowly stood up. He had his own weapon out and ready.

"Surely there was a misunderstanding," another voice said. This one was one of the military council members. "There has to be."

"Yeah, they want us dead," Sam said. "For some reason they came in and tried to kill us," he said picking up the weapons from the other three bodies. He tossed them to the general who caught one and handed another to the council member.

"Why would I want that," he said.

"Now what," Sam said ignoring the military council member and had turned to the general. "Any ideas as to how to get out of here alive?"

"We should probably get in touch with either the Tiger or the Cheetah," Pakrov said.

"Or the Argo," Sam said.

"The Argo," Pakrov said.

"I sent the information out and I hope that Commander Ares got it," Sam said.

"That warmonger Commander Ares," the council member said. "That man probably started all of this," he said waving his hand to the five dead men in the room.

"Here, either take it and come with us or stay here and you'll probably be killed, you're choice. Either way shut the hell up," Pakrov said towering over the man while shoving the weapon into the man's hands. "You type has put us in this situation in the first place. Do you have a communicator," Pakrov asked Sam.

"Yep," Sam said handing the general the small device.

"Good, let's work on getting out of here," Pakrov said.

* * *

"Commander, Arbus attack ships closing in on the Tiger and Cheetah," Pratt said to Ares.

Ares looked at the scanner. There were still no signs of battle but he had the feeling that it was going to happen any moment now.

"Red alert prepare to move out," Ares said as the Argo went to battlestations.

"Weapons fire," Pratt yelled.

"Move out," Ares said right behind what Pratt said.

The battlestar moved out from behind the moon heading towards the battle that was forming in space.

"Sir, I'm getting an incoming message from the planet's surface," Renee said.

"Put it though," Ares said.

"General Pakrov to Captain Reliy or Ben come in," Ares heard the voice say.

"Captain Reliy here, what's going on down there," Reliy's voice replied.

"I don't know, they just started to attack us. Most of the envoy has been killed, we're going to need a pick up," Pakrov said.

"Don't' think so general, we're under attack up here as well," Reliy said.

"General, give us your coordinates, I'll send a team down," Ares said interrupting them.

"Commander Ares, I'm actually glad to hear your voice," Pakrov said.

The coordinates were received. Ares thought about it for a minute then decided that he would send Troy and Bri to lead the team down to the surface. Because the two of them were already launched then the two pilots would fly cover for the shuttle.

"General Pakrov, is there any way that you can make your way to the landing site," Ares asked the general.

"I don't know but we'll try," Pakrov said. "If not we'll try and stay here until a team can get here."

"All right we'll try," Pakrov said as the communication went dead to the planet's surface.

"Captain Reliy, what is your situation," Ares asked bringing up the ship to ship communications.

"We're doing all right but I'm not sure about the Cheetah," Reliy said. "Captain Ben suddenly started to act a bit strange."

"Strange," Ares said turning to look at the scanner. The Tiger was turning to engage the Arbus warships but the Cheetah had not done anything yet to show engagement. He tried several times to get Captain Ben on the line but was not successful.

"Get the landing shuttle heading on down with Captain Troy and Lieutenant Bri as escorts now," Ares said hoping to get something out of this engagement. The Argo turned to engage the nearest Arbus warship hoping that its appearance would surprise the Arbus.

* * *

"Bri, Nall," Troy said over the intercom waiting for the two to reply.

"What's up Troy," they both replied.

"Nall, I need you to take over command of Green squadron. Bri we're escorting in some ground troops to rescue what remains of the party in the meeting," Troy said to her.

"No problem Troy, we can do that," Nall said. "Do you want any help with escorting the shuttle down to the planet's surface?"

"No, I don't think that it will be that bad as long as you keep the fighters off our back," Troy said as he banked his viper to line up another kill during the battle.

"I think we can do that," Nall replied. The fight so far had gone in their favor but no one was going to risk anything until the battle was over.

"All right, the shuttle had been launched," Troy said. "Follow me Bri."

Nall and Jax lined up as well to help with the protection of the shuttle. A few Arbus fighters tried to make a run at the shuttle but the vipers flying protection quickly made short work of them.

Troy's viper hit the atmosphere of the planet and he had to fly the viper a bit differently because of it. He did a test run over the area where the shuttle would land to see if there was any danger. Not seeing any he determined that the shuttle would land.

He landed his viper not far away from where the shuttle had landed and noticed that there was an additional viper on the ground. Watching as Nall got out of the viper he was a bit angry that Nall did not obey his orders. The other part of him knew that there was almost no way that their friend would allow them down here without him. Either way he really did not have time to think about it.

A quick look around and he noticed that there was not a lot of security personal in the area. Troy hoped that it stayed that way.

* * *

Pakrov peaked out the door looking down the hallway in both directions. He quickly ducked back in when he noticed a group of what appeared to be soldiers turning the corner. He had seen a few of them and turned to see how many people were left in the group. There were two senators, one of the military council and himself that had survived out of ten people.

"All right, we're about to get company," Pakrov said. "Let's get set up for them."

The two senators found a place to hide where they could fire on the door as did the general. The military council member was still trying to argue about what was going on. The man refused to think that fighting was the way even though it appeared to all the others that the only way they would get out was to fight.

The door was blown open causing the group to quickly duck briefly before more shots were fired. Pakrov knew that at the moment they had the advantage because of the small entrance way it allowed a smaller force to concentrate its firepower while a larger force was confined to use a small area.

Pakrov spared a glance around and noticed that the military advisor was now on the ground but could not tell if the man was alive or dead. For now he was concentrating on the incoming aliens and making sure that they did not make it into the room.

The brief firefight lasted a few minutes before everything went calm again. Pakrov waited a few seconds to see what was going on. He motioned for the two senators to remain where they were while he slowly crept towards the door. With a quick thought he motioned for one of the senators to keep an eye on the back door just in case.

He reached the door and there were several dead aliens along with one injured one. While keeping an eye on the injured one he snuck a peak out of the door. The hallway was empty which was good news.

"It clear here," Pakrov said. "Go check the other door," he said motioning for someone to check out the other entrance to the room.

Sam decided that he would check it out. His heart was racing to the point he was sure that the others could hear it. He was also scared to death of what was happening at the moment. But he also knew that if he wanted to live he had to do all of this. He made his way to the door and carefully turned the knob. The door opened and he quickly stuck his head out.

He was grateful that there was no one in the hallway. Glancing both way a few times to make sure that he did not miss anything he finally called all clear. It was then that he noticed something strange. The hallway ceiling was much shorter than the other hallways. He could barely stand up all the way. If he jumped he would hit the ceiling for sure. With a shake of his head he decided to keep an eye out in case someone came.

"General Pakrov," they heard Commander Ares' voice on the communicator. The general answered to see what was going on.

"The battle is over up here, the ships were not expecting to be attacked it seemed. We did however lose the Cheetah," Ares said. "Has the landing group found you yet?"

"Not yet," Pakrov said. "But that may explain why we're not under attack anymore. Hold on," Pakrov said as he spotted movement. He ducked for a moment before seeing a flash of tan. "I think you're boys are here commander," Pakrov said as he spotted the lead group of the rescue mission.

Troy was glad to see that the group was alive, or some were. There were four still alive which was good news to him. Getting to the room had been relativity easy. They had encountered a few guards but nothing they could not handle. This battle was pretty much over. Now all they had to do was get back.

End of Deadly Meetings

Continued in Disturbing Revelations


	34. Chapter 34: Disturbing Revelations

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Disturbing Revelations**

Ares stood on the bridge of the Argo listening to the damage report from the recent battle. So far there was little damage. There was some damage to the stealth metal around the ship but nothing that could not be repaired. There was something strange about the battle to him. The loss of the Cheetah was a bit of a blow to the fleet. The ship had not fired one shot during the battle making Ares wonder.

"Any news of the ground team," Ares asked.

"Not yet commander," Renee said. The last report stated that they had made contact and would be heading back to the shuttle shortly. Ares had sent down another shuttle in case they needed another shuttle. There were also a few more troops inside as well to help protect the landing zone.

"I would like to get out of here as soon as possible," Ares muttered to himself. He did not want to stay in the area if he did not know what else was out there.

"I'm sure that they are making their way to the shuttle right now," Pratt said to him. He did share Ares comment though. This was not the place to remain. They were probably inside Arbus territory and did not know what was going on back at Earth or Centari One. The two ships would probably head back to Earth to make sure that everything was all right.

The Hermes was scheduled to be between Earth and Centari One at the moment so they would not know if anything was going on. Ares thought about that. The Hermes was capable of long range communications.

"Get me the Hermes on the line," Ares said. He did not have to wait long before the captain appeared on the screen.

"Ay laddie, ya needed to speak with me," Captain Scott said in his usual accent.

"Yeah, I need for you to be careful when approaching Earth. The peace meeting did not go well," Ares said.

"Ah see," Scott said with understanding. He did not think that it would.

"Let me know what you find captain," Ares asked.

"That ah will commander," Scott said as the line when dead.

"Can we trust him, apparently we couldn't trust Ben," Pratt said.

"I know," Ares said. "I think so though. Something about him and his attitude. Its a bit different."

"All right," Pratt said.

"We can trust Reliy though," Ares said. The man had proven himself in the battle. He still wanted to know what was going on with people and why they could not spot them.

"Ground team is on their way back to the shuttles," Renee said. That was good new to Ares. He did not want to be here any longer than necessary.

Ares replied that he wanted to be informed when the ground team left the base. So far the scanners were clear but he did not expect that to remain like that for very long. He was sure that the Arbus would retaliate quickly.

* * *

"I don't like this," Bri said to Troy as they made their way down the hallway towards where the shuttles and vipers were.

Troy had to agree. So far they had not encountered a single Arbus on the compound. There were a few dead at the room where they had rescued the meeting group. Bri and Troy led the group down the hallway while Nall was in the rear. There were also ten others in the ground forces.

"Where is everyone," Troy heard Senator Sam say. It was something that everyone was relaying in their mind.

They passed another hallway which Troy looked down then stopped for a second. The group behind them stopped as well, looking at Troy for a moment to figure out what was going on.

"What's up Troy," Bri said, looking down the hallway.

"I've seen this hallway before," Troy said remembering his first vision of the Arbus. It was part of the confusing vision that he was still trying to understand.

"One of your visions," Bri asked.

"Yeah, everyone else continue on down the hallway, I'm going to investigate," Troy said.

"Not without me you're not," Bri said as Nall echoed her sentiment.

Troy glanced at them and knew that there was no way to get them to stay so they went down the hallway. The group maintained an awareness of what was going on around them just in case the Arbus decided to try and attack them.

Troy stopped at a door and looked at it for a second. It was something that he recognized. He decided that they would check out this room. After that they would head back to the ships and head back to the Argo. He was sure that Commander Ares was ready to get out of the area.

"Let's go in and have a peak, shall we," Troy said to the group. With a nod they opened the door and looked inside.

* * *

"Commander, the shuttles are heading up but they are reporting that Troy, Bri and Nall went off in search of something," Renee said to Ares.

Ares sighed a bit as he heard that news. He was sure that Troy knew that he wanted to get out of this system that he was sure was in Arbus control. He was also sure that reinforcements were nearby and probably headed their way now.

"Get Captain Troy on the line now," Ares said to the group.

He watched as they tried to raise the group over the communicator but so far without any luck. At least those three were flying the faster vipers and not the shuttles. That and they would be able to defend themselves much better than a shuttle could.

He did not have to wait much longer until he heard Renee give the shuttle pilots directions on landing. That meant that the shuttles would be on board soon. He also kept a close eye on the scanners to make sure that the area around them was clear. It was a bit harder with all the moons around the planet to make sure that they covered everything.

Ares stretched a bit to relieve some of the tension that had built up in his shoulders. He also turned his thoughts to the current make up of the fleet. They had lost the destroyer Cheetah for reasons still unexplained. The captain had not obeyed any order and the ship had not done anything to return fire on the Arbus. That puzzled him as he now had another mystery.

* * *

Troy stepped though the door and into what he had seen in his vision. In front of him was a large cavern. They were near the top of the cavern but it was lined with rows and rows of cylindrical tubes. Inside the tubes were humanoid shaped figures the size and shape of normal humans.

"By the lords of Kobol, what is this place," Nall said, as he walked in.

Bri just stood there with her mouth open having been rendered speechless by what she was seeing. Troy looked around at the size of what he was seeing. It was something that had confused him when he had seen it in his vision.

Walking over to one of the tubes he looked inside. There the figure no longer looked humanoid, but human.

"They're growing humans," Bri finally asked, regaining her voice.

"Not growing, cloning," Troy said as he looked at the figures.

"Clones, that doesn't make any sense," Nall said, as he looked around at the entire cavern. If the Arbus were making clones then they were making a lot of them for some reason.

"No, not at the moment but I'm sure as we gain more knowledge it will. I think we should get out of here," he said looking down at where a few figures were standing but had not noticed them yet.

"I think you're right," Bri said, turning to leave the room.

They quickly walked back into the hallway and made their way to where the vipers were. It would be an interesting debriefing that was for sure. The way back to the vipers was still unguarded which also made Troy curious. Where was everyone? It made him a bit nervous not seeing anyone. But if he made it all the way back he would take it this time.

* * *

"Commander, the rest of green squad is coming up from the planet," Renee said.

"That's the best news I've heard yet. Tell the Tiger to start heading back to Earth," Ares said. Pratt relayed the message to the commander of the Tiger as the three vipers began landing on the Argo.

Once the three vipers were back aboard the Argo the battlestar began its journey back to Earth. Ares asked for the three pilots to meet him in the conference room after detox had been done. The others would also be there. He wanted to know what had happened down on the planet's surface.

He did not have to wait too long before Senator Sam Harvey walked into the room. The man looked like he had just been in a place he did not want to be.

"Sit down senator," Ares said motioning for him to take a chair.

"Thank you commander, its been a long day," Sam said sitting down. He knew that there was still a lot of work to be done but for now needed to work on what had just happened while everything was still fresh in their minds.

Ares waited as General Pakrov walked into the room as well as another man. It was not much longer when Troy, Bri and Nall walked into the room.

"All right now that everyone is here let's find out what happened," Ares said. "I assume that this was supposed to be some sort of peace meeting or something like that?"

"That is what we were led to believe," Pakrov said looking at the man next to him.

"It was a meeting to clear up a mistake that had been made," the man said. "We were suppose to talk not shoot each other. What did you do up here in space."

"Nothing except that the fleet walked into a trap," Ares said.

"I don't believe that," the man said.

"The Argo arrived at the meeting site early. We watched as a large number of Arbus attack ships arrived before the meeting was scheduled. They then hid behind the moons and other places to avoid detection by the Tiger and Cheetah. After you had shuttled down the ships came out of hiding and attacked without provocation," Ares said. "We have the videos and scanner records if you wish to see it."

"So you say," the man said.

"Oh like we were real threatening in the meeting room," Sam said. "We were just standing there waiting when they walked in and without saying anything they opened fire on us."

Ares' eyebrows shot up at that. "No warning," Ares asked.

"No," Sam said.

"We barely survived," Pakrov said. "Though the escape was a bit too easy."

"We uncovered something on the way out," Troy said. "We walked down the corridor a ways then went into one of the rooms."

Ares wondered what they had found if anything. He had a feeling that they had found something by the tone in Troy's voice though.

"The room was a large cavern filled with what appeared to be clones of human," Troy said.

"Clones," several others said at the same time.

"It appeared to be hundreds of them," Nall said.

"Why would they be cloning humans," Sam asked outloud.

"That is a good question," Ares said as he thought about it all. He had a feeling that he had all the pieces now and just had to put them together.

"Maybe their bodies are not that good or something like that," Nall said posing out a question.

"Could be but for some reason I doubt that," Troy replied.

Ares decided that they would work on it later. Right now they were headed back to Earth and everyone was hoping that the Arbus had not attacked the planet.

* * *

Ares walked back onto the bridge knowing less now then he did earlier. He had been given more clues to whatever this war was about but nothing to hold it all together. He wondered what it was that this war was about. Where did the human clones fit in and why?

"Commander, report coming in from Captain Scott," Renee said from where she was sitting.

"Put it though," Ares said.

"Commander Ares, good news ta report," the man said. "Everything here appears ta be fine."

"Good, keep your scanners sharp though. We don't know if they planned an attack later on or not," Ares said.

"Ah will," Scott replied.

Ares leaned back with a sigh. So that would be good news for everyone. It meant that they would not have to be fighting to get back home again. Ares briefly wondered if they would ever make it home again with the way things were going here.

He wondered if he should send some sort of message back to the Colonies or not. If he sent a message it could be picked up by the Cylons. It could then endanger Earth even more than it was. He also could not spare a ship to help out in the battle as even with the improved engines it would take a year to head to the Colonies and back again.

He thought about the different ways that he could get a communication to the Colonies. A laser beam transmission might work, but even it could be intercepted by the large distance it had to travel. There was also no guarantee that it would be picked up by anyone back at home.

After a few more minutes he did everything that he needed to do then decided that it was a good time to head to his quarters to get a bit of sleep in. There was nothing to do until he got back. He was also sure that the new Earth government would have a fit at what happened. But that was not his concern right now. He was a soldier and did what he was trained to do, fight the enemy.

* * *

Troy walked over to where Bri, Nall and Rebecca were sitting. They were eating and he grabbed something as well and sat down.

"So how was your first combat experience," Troy asked Rebecca. She had worked on the bridge helping out the crew with the flight operations during the battle.

"Interesting, though I will say that Commander Ares was not pleased when he learned that you were staying on the planet a bit longer," Rebecca said.

"I can imagine," Troy said. "He probably wanted to leave as soon as possible."

"Yep, didn't want to give the Arbus a chance to retaliate against us," Rebecca said. "I'm just glad you made it," she said looked at Nall.

"With them by my side, I'll always make it," Nall said, pointing to the other two.

"Yeah, we all know that it won't be the enemy that kills you," Troy said with a laugh.

"Yeah, it will be Bri," Rebecca said.

"This sweet little thing," Nall said, patting Bri on the head watching as she bared her teeth. "You're probably right," he said snatching his hand away with a smile.

"And don't you forget it," Bri said with a smug smile. She turned to see Gunther walking into the room. She noticed that he did not seem to be himself and excused herself from the group.

Troy watched as she made her way over to where Gunther had sat down with a drink. Troy had a feeling that he knew what she was up to before turning to Nall and Rebecca.

"Gunther is taking the loss of the Cheetah hard," Nall said somberly.

"Yeah, it was his first command and I think he made a lot of friends on board the ship," Troy said. "That would be a hard thing to swallow knowing that they didn't put up a fight."

"You don't know that," Rebecca said. "There could have been an internal struggle that we don't know about."

"You're right there," Nall said. "Anything could have happened."

"Well we still need him," Troy said. "Until we figure out what is happening there is no telling what will happen next."

* * *

Bri made her way over to where Gunther was sitting. She sat down next to him and waited for him to notice her. He glanced at her for a second before she finally said something.

"I'm not sure what to say Gunther," Bri said. "Only that I'm sorry."

"It's not you're fault," Gunther said. "Perhaps I didn't prepare them enough."

"If you're going to go that route then a lot of us are at fault," she said causing him to look up. "Who do you think trained them to fly, to maintain the engines, the weapon systems and everything else that makes a ship a function?"

"Yeah, but I trained the commander," Gunther replied.

"But you don't know what happened there. It might have been something out of your control. Captain Reliy said that Ben didn't seem like himself and was not going to defend the ship," Bri said working logic into the conversation.

"It's still a failure," Gunther said.

"And we learn from our mistakes, its makes us better," Bri said.

"You have to be so logical don't you," Gunther said.

"Nope just making you look at it from another angle. You are going to make a good captain one day, believe it," Bri said to him.

"I guess if you're going to be hounding me I have no choice," Gunther said.

"Nope, now come on over and join us," Bri said as they walked over to Troy, Nall and Jessica were sitting. Gunther realized that Bri was right which made him feel better.

In the back of Bri's mind an idea began to take shape of everything she had seen lately.

* * *

Ares was not looking forward to the next part. They had made it back to Earth without a problem. Now he had to talk to the Earth council which he was sure a lot of things would have to come out. He had wanted everything to remain a secret for a while longer but realized that he probably would not be able to keep the secret much longer.

Ares was also sure that the council would want to know what happened to the meeting that was supposed to occur. He was still not sure what happened except that it was an ambush. If everything had gone the way the Arbus wanted the Earth would not be defenseless.

"Shuttle ready commander," the voice said over the intercom letting him know that everything was ready to shuttle him down to the planet's surface. Senator Harvey, General Pakrov, the other surviving senator and the military council member would also be going down with him to help explain what happened. He could only hope that they listened to what they had to say.

The flight down did not take long and he was now standing outside the council room. He was ushered inside where the room was full and the President was standing in the middle of the room.

"Commander Ares," the President said. "I'm glad you came. There are many things that the council would wish to discuss with you. From deserting you're post to military treason. I'm sure once everything is out in the open I'll have you're command stripped from you," he said.

Ares just looked at the President wondering if they would even get to what had happened at the meeting that had been scheduled with the Arbus.

"Now commander why don't you tell us why you took off with the most powerful warship in Earth's military then proceeded to destroy a meeting with the Arbus," the President said.

Ares looked around at the people gathered before finally speaking. "All right, first off you don't have the authority to dismiss me from command of the Argo," he said causing an outburst from several senators in the area.

"We are the governing body here," the President said.

"Yes, but Earth isn't my home," Ares said. "It's actually about a half a year's travel from here."

"So you're an alien," the President asked.

"No, human like you, just a different tribe," Ares said. "I come from the Colonies, a group of twelve tribes of mankind. Earth is the thirteenth. You see we're at war."

"With the Arbus, of course, so now you bring you're war here where it is not welcome. We'll make peace with them and you can continue you're war with them," the President said interrupting Ares.

"No, not the Arbus, a race of machines called the Cylons," Ares said. "They have one goal, to destroy everything not like them. If our war ends in failure then it will be only a matter of time before they come here. Then they will fight both you and the Arbus."

"And you expect me to believe this," the President said.

"Look, I took my crew back and waited to see what would happen. We went to the meeting place secretly to check it out. What we saw was the Arbus fleet taking up positions for an ambush of the fleet. That did occur once the 'ambassadors' had been shuttled down to the planet's surface," Ares said to the group.

"And you say that you didn't try and provoke them into attacking you," the President said.

"No, in the meeting room they came in and opened fire never saying anything to us," Sam said speaking up from where he was.

"We also lost one ship, the Cheetah which never returned fire at all," Pakrov said.

"I find this incredible," the President said.

"Incredible or not, it's true," Ares said. "In fact when rescuing the group we found out something else. A large cavern of what appeared to be human clones."

"Clones," the President asked not sure what that meant.

"Yes, we're still not sure of what that means either," Ares said.

He was about to say more when he was interrupted by an aide. She told him that someone from the Argo wanted to talk to him and would not take no for an answer. The President decided that now would be a good time for a break anyways and allowed it. Ares walked out of the room to see what was going on.

* * *

Ares was a bit surprised when he saw Bri's face on the screen. It was the one person that he was not expecting.

"Lieutenant Bri, I wasn't expecting to see you," Ares said.

"I know," Bri said suddenly feeling nervous about why she had called and insisted on seeing the commander.

"What did you want," Ares asked wondering what she had to say.

"I've been thinking about everything that we've seen lately. From how people have acted to what happened just recently and I think I've got it figured out," Bri said.

"Really, what," Ares asked suddenly intrigued.

"The clones, they are substituting people of influence with clones who will do their bidding," Bri said. "It makes sense. When the Arbus attacked the people in power did nothing because it was what they were programmed to do."

"Interesting," Ares said as he thought about it. If Bri was right then they would not be able to separate those who were clones against those who were not clones.

"By controlling the military and government they could conquer the planet without much resistance. By the time people tried to resist it would be too late," Bri said.

"It would explain the clones you saw," Ares said.

"It would also mean that the only ones not for sure to be clones would be us," Bri said meaning those who had been on board the Argo.

"That might be true," Ares said. The Arbus had probably been planning this invasion for a while. The arrival of the Argo and her crew put a damper on the plan. It did explain quite a bit in Ares' mind.

The loss of interest of space exploration. The government's obsession with the sea and several people's pure resistance to fighting the Arbus. He wondered if the President was a clone as well. It would be hard to tell a clone from someone who just was against a war regardless of the situation even if it meant their destruction. He would have to talk with Doctor Weaver if they could come up with a way to find out if a person had been cloned or not.

The call came to head back into the meeting room. He thanked Bri and said he would see what he could do about it. She had opened up a possible situation to what had gone on. It just might be enough.

End of Disturbing Revelations

Continued in Trials of War


	35. Chapter 35: Trials of War

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Trails of War**

Ares glanced down at his desk. Things had become real hectic since the ambushed meeting. There was open hostility between the government and the military. It was really hard because most of the people were supporting the military and not the government. Many were starting to question the government's willingness to protect the population.

General Pakrov had turned command of the fleet back over to Ares saying that he didn't want it. Ares had a feeling that he would need someone like the general and kept in on board the staff. The destroyer Puma had been finally completed but there was no sign of the Arbus lately. Ares was not sure if that was good or bad news.

He had a feeling that they were up to something else. With Pakrov's help they had been quietly searching the area where the Arbus transmissions had come from in hopes of finding what it was. So far it had been silent lately. There was a few communications to Earth but there was no way of telling who else had picked them up.

With Bri's idea in his mind he had only told those who he felt he could trust. General Pakrov, Senator Sam, Robert were a few who he had told. He had deliberately kept it from the council. He was sure that they would say it was his imagination. He had the feeling that he was up against a cleaver foe. The only thing that helped them out was the fact that their technology was a bit superior to the Arbus'.

Now they were in a waiting game for what would happen next. There was a lot of preparation to do especially when they did not know who they could trust. They also had to instruct some of the people in what to expect especially if one of the new ship captains was a human clone.

"The Puma is coming along," Reliy said to Ares. Reliy was another person that they felt they could trust. He had proved himself in battle against the Arbus and had fought back. That was important in this war.

"Yes, we're going to be giving you command of the Puma full-time as well," Ares said. He knew that it was not fair to have the man in command of the Tiger during a battle then take away his command.

"It should be easier than the Tiger," Reliy said. He had wondered how long it would take to receive a command. He had really thought that he had proven himself to the others and was a bit disappointed when Commander Pratt had taken the Tiger over again.

"That's true, but it's still a command," Ares said to him. "We'll be constructing more ships and there will be more room to expand for experienced captains."

Reliy knew that the commander was telling the truth in that. He had no doubt that if he stayed alive and did his job that he would receive command of a larger ship as well. They were already working on a new shipyard orbiting Centari One and plans were now going ahead for a shipyard on Earth.

BSGBSG

Weaver walked over to where his station was. He was back on Centari One after the quick recall to the Argo and then a brief stop on Earth. Now he was back where he felt his home was, on Centari One. People were still working having not stopped even in his absence. That made him proud.

"What do we have people," Weaver asked the group as they gathered around for their annual meeting.

"Nothing much doctor," one of his assistances said. "We've been working on that found starship but so far work is still going slow."

"To be expected," Weaver said. "What about the test for the s-metal?"

"Every test confirms what the original test reported," the aide said.

"I see," Weaver said. It meant that they had a bit of a problem. Commander Ares had already asked for the next ship to be constructed normal without the s-metal. "Let's continue working on it until we have strengthened the metal enough to make it usable."

The group broke up and Weaver walked over to the console to write up a brief report to sent to Ares. Looking at the computer he noticed that the report from the Colonies had arrived. He scanned the report to see what had happened lately. The news was the same and filled with recent battles against the Cylons. There was also a report of a new council member elected to the Council of Twelve. A man named Baltar and a list of what the man had done recently.

Closing the screen he turned to back to his lab to see what else he could work on.

BSGBSG

Troy and Bri walked back to their quarters. They had spent the day training the new recruits. They were trying to build up a few squadrons of vipers to put on Earth's surface for defense until a few more ships were ready. On Centari One they were constructing the facilities to house a large group of permanent viper squadrons for defense.

"Is it just me or is this war a crazy mixed up war so far," Bri said, as they walked into their quarters.

"Nope, it is a bit crazy so far. I don't know what else is going to happen," Troy said. Some of his visions had come true now there were a few others that still had to come about if they did. He had one that he hoped would not come true at all, that was the one of the fleet being destroyed.

"So what is next," Bri asked.

"Well if everything goes well, they will be starting another Tiger class ship, this one will be constructed out of normal armor. Apparently there is a flaw in the s-metal," Troy said.

"I heard," Bri said. She hoped that it was not too much of a flaw as it did give them an advantage in combat.

"Well Doctor Weaver is working on it," Troy said. "That and he's still trying to find out what secrets that discovered ship has to reveal."

"That will be interesting," Bri said.

"That will be," Troy said. "Don't think that there is anything that we'll be able to use but you never know."

"Some sort of secret weapon on board," Bri asked.

"I doubt it, but I think it might tell us a connection between Earth and Kobol," Troy said. "The language is similar to the one on Kobol and apparently one used on Earth."

"Egi-Egyped, something like that," Bri said.

"Egypt, I think," Troy said. "Yeah apparently its an old language on Earth."

The room suddenly became bathed in red as the red alert went off. They both looked at each other before Bri heaved a sigh and they ran to their vipers to see what was going on.

BSGBSG

"Commander," Renee said from where she was sitting. "Scanners indicate incoming Arbus ships."

"How many and what type," Ares asked as he and Reliy shared a look.

"Two, one appears to be a scout ship the other an attack class," Renee replied.

Ares knew that in a straight battle the battlestar was the more powerful ship and could take on several attack class ships. He wondered what their plan was this time. Only two ships would be easily handled by the Tiger not to mention the Argo.

"Sound red alert," Ares said. He did not want to get caught. "Get me General Pakrov as well."

It did not take long before the general was on the screen. He asked what was going on.

"We have two ships heading this way. The Argo should be able to handle it," Ares said.

"Do you want us to scramble the viper squadrons on the ground," Pakrov asked.

"No, I would like to keep that a secret for now," Ares said. "The less they know about our abilities the better it will be for us."

"I understand," Pakrov said.

"But do have them on standby just in case something else happens," Ares said to him.

Pakrov replied that he would and left Ares to head up the fleet to defend the planet.

BSGBSG

Troy and Bri made it to their vipers and were told which groups would be launching. Of course green squadron was one of the squadrons to be launching. It did not surprise him at all at which squads were launching. The other squad was still undergoing training and was not quite ready for combat if they could help it.

"Everyone ready to go," Troy asked the group. They all replied that they were as they went to climb into their vipers. Everyone had their own pre-battle jitters as they ready to launch. There was always the possibility of losing someone in the battle.

Back at the colonies new recruits were not really talked to that much unless they survived a few battles. Then if it looked like they would stick around the other pilots would welcome them in. The Argo had been a bit different. They were not sure how long they would be together so the friendships formed and held still.

Troy heard the coordinates where his squad was to head to after launching then was given permission to launch. His viper was thrust out into space as he was pushed back into his seat. Once out the rest of the group formed up on him as he turned the group in the correct direction.

They could see two ships on their scanners. One 'Attack' class which would probably be dealt with first. The scout ship probably did not pose much of a problem. It did not take long before the groups engaged. Two Arbus ships against one battlestar.

"Captain, do you notice anything odd about the way the scout ship is flying," Bri asked Troy as they were fighting the other enemy fighters.

"No, of course I haven't looked either," Troy said.

"It went right by us, but it isn't headed to Earth," Bri said making Troy look down at his scanner. He noticed that Bri was correct in what she was saying.

"Green leader to Argo," Troy said not having to wait too long until he heard Renee's voice.

"Argo here, what's the problem captain," Renee asked.

"We've noticed that the Arbus scout ship has refused to engage us at all and is headed towards the Argo," Troy said. "They might be trying to ram the battlestar."

"I'll let the commander know," Renee said.

BSGBSG

Renee spun around to the commander after she heard what Troy had told her. If they were trying to ram the Argo then they might be in danger.

"Commander, we might have a problem," Renee said.

"What's wrong," Ares asked hoping that whatever was going on was not that bad.

"Green leader thinks that the Arbus scout ship might be trying a suicide run at us," Renee said.

Ares looked down at his scanner along with Regil who was beside him. Looking at the ship he noticed that the course was indeed straight to the Argo. It was something that he was not sure he liked.

"All weapons fire on the scout ship," Ares said.

The Argo's weapon systems opened up on the scout ship with the accuracy that had been honed with centuries of warfare against the Cylons.

"This is going to be close," Regil said, as he watched what was going on the scanners.

"Yes it will. Helm, change course to oh-one-five," Ares said as the battlestar began to turn a bit "Increase speed to flank attack speed."

The crew on the bridge raced around trying to keep up with the commands that were coming from the commander. They all knew what was at stake this time and hurried hoping that they could will the ship into making the turn and speed increase faster.

BSGBSG

Troy watched as the battlestar made a turn in an attempt to put some distance between the two ships. He could see the weapon systems firing on the scout ship and wondered how much more the Arbus ship could take. He had just thought that when he noticed the beginning of an explosion on the scout ship.

It did not take much but once the explosion started it was big. To Troy the explosion was bigger than a normal ship explosion. He would have to talk with a few others to confirm his suspicions that the ship had been packed with explosives.

It was then that he noticed that the Argo had gone silent. There was nothing coming from the battlestar and he wondered if the ship had been damaged in the explosion.

"Green leader to Argo come in," Troy said receiving no reply.

The debris cleared a bit and Troy was a bit glad to see that the Argo was still there but did not know how much damage it had taken.

"All vipers, concentrate you're fire on the Arbus weapon and propulsion systems," Troy said. "Bri you're with me, we're going to mop up these fighters right now."

"I'm right behind you," Bri said as they flew into the battle once more.

Troy knew that if the Argo had been damaged then it might not be enough to defeat the Attack ship. If they could knock out enough of the weapons and propulsion then they stood a better chance for the Argo to survive the battle.

The fighters of Green squad raced towards the Arbus attack ship with a vengeance. No one wanted their ship to be destroyed. It was home for many of them and a way back home as well.

Troy was glad when he noticed that the battlestar was began firing again at the attack ship. It meant that they were still in the fight.

"Green leader to Argo," Troy said one more time.

"Argo here, what's the situation captain," the reply came back. "The explosion sent out a heavy EMP pulse to our ship and knocked out the systems. They are coming back on line right now."

That was a large relief to Troy. That meant that the Argo was not out of the fight. He turned back to his task at hand for the fight. There was still a lot left to do against this attack ship. Troy did not have any doubts about victory against the Arbus ship he did not want the Argo to suffer any more damage.

"Attack ship is suffering damage," Troy heard Nall say as he went in for another attack.

"Yeah, looks like its weapon systems are heavily damaged. There is not a lot of return fire coming from it," Troy said as they continued to attack the ship.

The damage finally became too much and the ship exploded effectively ending the battle. There were still a few fighters that they had to finish up with but the battle was now over.

BSGBSG

"Arbus attack ship destroyed," Reliy said.

"Good, I want a damage report sent to my office right away," Ares said then turned and went to his office.

The battle had been closer than he had thought. If they had not figured out that the scout ship was on a ramming course it might have destroyed the Argo. Even then it was something they had to keep in mind for future battles. They had neglected the EMP pulse against their ships but it was something that they had. It was time to put that back into play. It would especially come into play if they encountered the Cylons again.

Sitting down at the desk another question came to his mind. How many ships did the Arbus process and had they encountered their most powerful ships yet. So far about twenty attack class ships had been destroyed along with several scout class ships. He wondered how hard the Arbus fleet had been hit.

The Arbus also worried him from the prospective that he did not know who could have been cloned. That was really true after the invasion. There was no telling how many had been replaced with clones. The damage report did not take that long to receive and the news was better than he had expected.

The landing bays were fully functional as were the weapon systems. The blast wave had damaged a few of the computers on board but were in the process of being repaired. He was glad to hear that the news was good. He had been sure that the ship had taken more severe damage after being knocked out for the short while. There were reports of some of the s-metal coming off the ship and would have to be replaced.

That would be why the ship had been hit more than usual. The Arbus were able to lock on to the Argo a bit better with the reduced stealth factor. The next step was to increase the fleet. He wondered how long they had to build up the fleet. Now all he had to do was head on down to the Earth council and report to them again. He was not sure that he trusted the people in the government yet. There was still some reluctance to understand that they were at war.

BSGBSG

Troy sat down with Bri and Nall who were already doing their familiar banter. From what he could tell Nall was smiling while Bri was frowning. He could tell that Nall had not disturbed Bri too much yet as Nall was not in pain yet.

"Ss, what did you ask my wife this time," Troy said as he sat down.

"Nothing much, just some details," Nall said with a smile. Troy could only guess that it had something to do with Bri's sex life.

"Some," Bri said as her eyebrows raised to her hairline.

"All right, all of it," he said with a smile as Troy rolled his eyes at the two. It should disturb him that Nall was so interested in his wife's sex life because it was also his but it did not. It was strange as when they were bantering it was like it was someone else and he was just along for the ride.

"Pervert, how does Rebecca stand you," Bri said exasperated.

"Quite well thank you," Nall said with a wiggle of his eyebrows as Bri groaned.

"So where is Rebecca," Troy asked.

"She's on duty right now," Nall said. "She's been practicing a lot with Renee lately to get the hang of the job."

"I see," Troy said.

"Then I'm going to ask them both if they want to have some fun," Nall said.

"What would Rebecca say," Bri asked.

"I'm more concerned about Renee than Rebecca," Nall said.

"Great, he found his soulmate," Bri said.

"I guess it takes one to find one," Troy said with a laugh as Bri glared at him as well.

"I was worried when that scout ship exploded," Nall said.

"I think we all were. But I will say that I'm very glad that I don't have to go down to talk with the council," Troy said.

"Ugh, from what I've heard its a mess down there," Nall replied.

"And with this clone situation it only makes it worse," Bri said.

"I think we know each other well enough that we know how the others will act in a time of danger," Troy said indicating everyone who was from the Colonies.

"Yeah, I think you're right," Nall said. "I think many of us want to see the Colonies again."

"I heard that Commander Ares might send a ship to the Colonies to inform them of what is going on," Bri said.

"I heard that as well, but he cannot afford to part with many people," Troy said.

"What about the Hermes. It's fast enough to head to the Colonies and back again," Bri said.

"The engines could be modified some more and we could refuel again once we reached the Colonies," Nall said.

"But then it comes down to who to send," Troy said.

"That I don't know," Bri said.

"We should approach the commander about this. He might have an idea," Nall said.

The all agreed. The commander would know who to send more than they would.

BSGBSG

Ares walked into the council room where the Earth government was holding another long meeting. He noticed that Sam and Robert were both there. Both men appeared to be frowning at whatever had gone on this morning.

"Commander, glad you could make it," Ares heard General Pakrov say behind him. He turned to see the general walking towards him.

"General, how are things going," Ares asked.

"Not well. The council is determined to see that we are defenseless against the Arbus for some reason," Pakrov said.

"Then we go around the council," Ares said to him.

"You are reading my mind commander," Pakrov said.

Ares smiled at Pakrov. The more he got to know the man the more he liked him. He was someone a lot like him. Suspicious of everything around them and never took anything at face value. He was also someone who understood what they were up against. When Ares had told him about the clones the man paused to think about that. He also wondered if he might be a clone. That was why he had deferred the military back to Ares.

"Ah, Commander Ares so good of you to join us," the President said.

"Always a pleasure," Ares said with a forced smile on his face.

"Of course, now I hear that there is more news," the President said.

"Yes, the Arbus recently attacked us again," Ares said. "This time they are using suicide ships to knock out our ships. I think we have time to increase our fleet defenses but we must act now without delay."

"Act now, for what," the President asked.

"Our enemy has suffered some losses, how badly I don't know. We might have limited his ability to create war against us for a short time but it won't last forever. We must build up our own forces for when they come back," Ares said.

"So you say," the President said.

"If we delay we could lose this war," Ares said.

"Lose the war. According to you we are winning the war," the President said.

"With no help from you," General Pakrov said. "You put me in charge of the military then tie my hands with idiots who know nothing about the military. Then you criticize me when we rescue our forces from an ambush which you sent us to."

"What are you saying," the President said his eyes narrowing.

The general reviewed his last words carefully. "Interesting," he said finally as the council had grown a bit quiet. "I find it very interesting that you get defensive when I bring up what you've done yet think nothing about criticizing the military regardless of how well it performs. It's almost as if you're a clone."

"You had better tread carefully general," the President said.

"He's right though. You've blocked everything that might help us while helping the Arbus, why," Ares said slowly walking towards the President.

A few others were also thinking about it from Ares could see. The President meanwhile was becoming angry with what was going on.

"And here I thought that I could trust you general. I see that I will have to rectify the situation," he finally said.

"What situation," Ares asked. "We have been attacked by an alien race for unknown reasons. So what is this situation that you have to rectify?"

"I will not discuss this with you," the President said.

"Then how about me," one senator said. Ares was a bit surprised when it was not Sam. "I would like this situation explained to me as well."

Ares looked around noticing that it looked like the President was losing support.

"Perhaps you are a clone," another senator said. That comment sent the entire senate into an uproar. This was a problem in Ares' eyes. Who was a clone and who was not? Was there anyone on Earth who was a clone?

"Quiet," Sam's voice said over the crowd. "I have a proposal," he finally said over the crowd. "We vote on a new president for now."

"This is outrageous," the President said.

"Sir, we are at war, we need to act like we are at war, not friends with the Arbus," one senator said. "You have been acting like their friend."

Several other senators nodded at her statement. They finally got the vote done which removed the current temporary president and now they had to vote on a new President.

"So, when will the voting take place," Ares asked.

"Next month if everything goes well," the general said.

"Maybe then things will flow smoother," Ares said. "I know this is not what I came to talk about."

"I know, we still have to begin building a fleet," Pakrov said.

"More than you know," Ares said, causing a glance from the general. Ares could only wonder what was going to happen if the Cylons became involved at all.

End of Trials of War

Continued in A New Mission


	36. Chapter 36: A New Mission

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**A New Mission**

Troy made his way down to where Ares' office was. The group had decided that he should talk to the commander about what they had come up with concerning contacting the Colonies. Many thought that it was something that they needed to do.

"Come in," Ares' voice said as the door opened and Troy walked in.

"Captain, what can I do for you today," Ares asked.

"Well commander, we were talking about contacting the Colonies," Troy said.

"We cannot risk sending a message to the Colonies that might be intercepted by the Cylons," Ares said.

"I know commander, but we could send a ship," Troy said.

"I cannot afford to send any ships at this moment captain," Ares said.

"What about the Hermes," Troy asked. "The ship is fast and doesn't have any weapon systems. It could transport a group to the Colonies and back."

"That sounds good, but the Hermes is doing an important mission in transporting men and materials from Centari One and Earth. As it is we could use more of them," Ares said but thought about it some more. "There is a scout class ship on the drawing boards though. We could modify one for a long-range trip to the colonies."

"That would work," Troy said. "I know that many of us don't have families back at the Colonies but it would be a boost for the moral."

"I know," Ares said. "Who would you suggest to lead this group," he asked fully expecting an answer.

"Well, we don't know," Troy replied. "We thought that we would leave that up to you."

"Captain Scott and Gunther would work," Ares said quietly after a few seconds of thinking. Captain Scott was a man who was not highly educated in academics but was in life. The man was genuine in almost everything he did. And he could afford to lose Gunther to a mission like this long-term.

"Perhaps," Troy said.

Ares reached over pressing a button waiting for the reply.

"Doctor Weaver here," they heard his voice.

"Weaver, I need for you to modify the scout ship for a long-range trip," Ares said. "Back to the Colonies."

"Are you sure commander," Weaver asked.

"Yes," Ares replied. "I think it's time we sent a message back to them."

"I'll get on it commander," Weaver said as the link was disconnected.

"How is the building program going," Troy asked after a few more moments of silence.

"We have the Panther started," Ares said. The Panther is a sister ship of the Tiger. "And two destroyer class ships, going to be called Ant and Fireant."

"Interesting names," Troy said.

"When they are complete it will give us two Tigers and three destroyers to go with the Argo," Ares said. "Only the Argo, Tiger and Puma will have the s-metal though."

"Still having trouble with it," Troy asked.

"Yes," Ares replied. "I plan on having a scout fleet or a stealth attack fleet while the others are made up of regular ships."

"Sounds good," Troy said. "I wonder how long the Arbus will wait before attacking us again."

"That is anyone's guess," Ares said. "I have the Puma patrolling the quadrant from where the Arbus have come from. I hope they find something that we can use soon or at least spot an incoming fleet before it arrives in either Earth's or Centari One's orbit."

"That I can understand," Troy said.

"How are the new recruits coming," Ares asked.

"Doing fine," Troy replied. "They are nervous about flying in space but many are professionals."

Ares nodded knowing that many new recruits were from the remnants of the Earth's military forces. They would already have the discipline that was required and would bolster their forces quickly.

"Let me know if there are any problems," Ares said.

"Yes sir," Troy said then walked out.

BSGBSG

Troy met up with Nall and Jax knowing that it would be a while before Bri joined them. She was to work with a group of trainees for another hour.

"So what did the commander say," Nall asked, knowing where Troy had been. Jax looked at the two of them with a question in her eye.

"He said basically what we thought he would. He is having Weaver's team modify the scout design for the travel back to the Colonies and sending Gunther along," Troy said.

"Gunther, didn't think about him. Anyone else," Nall asked.

"Yeah, Captain Scott," Troy said. They had both had dealings with the man who described himself as 'an old sea dog'.

"Interesting choice," Nall said as he thought about it. He wondered what type of impression he would make to the Council of Twelve. "Wish I could be there when he meets them."

"I know," Troy said. Scott had a way of telling things the way they were and calling people lad.

"You are planning a trip back to the Colonies," Jax finally said after being quiet for a while.

"Yeah, I figured that they needed to know what we've found and what is going on," Troy said.

"Why not just send a signal instead, it would be quicker," Jax asked.

"And tell the Cylons were we are and what we are doing. Not a good idea," Troy said.

"Forgot about that," Jax said before turning to Nall. "So how are things with Rebecca going?"

"Very well," Nall said with a smile. "I'm going to be meeting with her parents soon. We were finally able to find out they survived the invasion. Things are still a mess on Earth."

"Good news," Jax said. "I have a feeling they will be rebuilding for a while still."

"They found that some towns were completely wiped off the map. Nothing left except a barren land," Troy said.

"Nothing left," Jax said.

"Nothing. If it wasn't for the fact that people knew a town had been there you would never know," Troy said.

"Incredible," Nall said. It was something he had heard about but was not sure of until recently.

"What is the Arbus plan here? Why destroy everything," Jax asked the question they were all thinking. So far no one had a good theory about it.

"That is as the Earthers say, the million dollar question," Nall replied. There was still a lot about the Arbus that they did not know.

"Well, I need to go prepare my next class lessons before I go into the class," Nall said getting up.

"Guess I better go with you," Jax said. "After all we are teaching the class together."

Troy watched the two of them walk away. He decided to head on over and see how Bri was handling her class.

BSGBSG

Bri let out a breath, as she once again went over what she was teaching the group of pilots. They were all veteran pilots who all seemed to know everything regardless of what she said.

"But that doesn't make any sense," one of the pilots. "It goes against everything that we've been taught"

"And it might save your life," Bri said. "You have to stop thinking in two dimensions."

"I've flown for twelve years and have logged more flying time and combat time than you probably have, and you're telling me to stop thinking in two dimensions," the man said.

"Yes, it could mean the difference between life and death out there," Bri said, but she could tell that he was not listening to her.

"When was the last time any of you flew in space," a male voice rang out. Bri turned to see Troy standing in the door way.

"Doesn't make any difference," the man said. "We're used to flying."

"In an atmosphere with gravity and a limited space. In space you don't have any limitations. If you do a loop it will feel the same at the top as it does at the bottom of the loop and if your attacker can turn quicker than you you're dead," Troy said. "There are two things you need to remember in flying in space, speed and maneuverability. Forget these things and you are dead."

"I think more time in the simulators is needed then before I send you out in real vipers," Bri said. "Meet back here in an hour for simulator practice with simulated combat," she said an idea forming in her mind.

Troy noticed the small grin on her face and did not want to be in any of her student's position. He waited until everyone was gone before approaching her.

"Why is it I think you're students are in trouble," he asked her.

"Because they are," she said. "Most of them don't think women can do a man's job, which is why they are questioning me so much. But I want to get the female pilots together to fly against them."

"You mean from the Argo," Troy said wanting to clear that up.

"Yep," Bri said with a grin.

"Those poor guys," Troy said. Bri and Jax could probably take on her entire group but add in a few others and he did not think they stood a chance. They were very good. "I think I'll watch," he said with a grin.

"Now who's getting pleasure out of other people's pain," Bri said.

"I can't help it. Besides I want to watch how they are coming. It might help with the training," Troy said. He did not have that type of problem in his class. They were a mix of male and female so they listened to what he had to say. They would be taking their first flying mission tomorrow.

"So how did it go with the commander," Bri asked.

"He's thinking about it. Probably be a modified scout ship with Gunther and Captain Scott commanding it," Troy said.

"Good," Bri said, as the door opened and one of her students walked in.

"Ma'am," he said waiting. "I was thinking about what you said. What do we do if our enemy is faster and more maneuverable than we are?"

"That's what your wingman and training is for," Bri said. "A good pilot will probably hit reverse thrusters and try for a quick shot while going by the enemy fighter."

"Oh, I hadn't thought of that," he said. "There are many different rules," he said thinking about it.

"Yes there is," she said. "You're going to up against my group."

"You're group," he asked.

"Men against woman," Troy said.

"Oh boy, is that wise," he asked knowing how some of the group were acting.

"Yep," Bri said. "Now go get some lunch."

BSGBSG

Nall stood next to Troy as they watched as several woman stood next to Bri. The groups were uneven Troy noticed, but not that that mattered very much. Bri's trainees consisted of twelve people and she had gathered six including herself.

"Now for this simulation it will be you twelve against the six of us," Bri said, indicating the woman standing around her.

"But you're women and we outnumber you, that's not much of a challenge," one man said.

"Don't worry, we'll go easy on you," Jax said, watching as the man's eyes narrowed at her.

"Everyone to their simulators," Bri said, as they walked into their simulators.

Troy waited until everyone was in the simulators before throwing the switches. It was going to be an interesting thing to watch as he and Nall looked on the monitors.

The two groups engaged and quickly two of the students were 'killed' in the engagement. Nall could see that this was going to end very quickly as Bri's group quickly made short work of the students. Troy shook his head at the numerous mistakes the students were making. When it was finally over, a few minutes later, Bri's group had not suffered one loss.

"I thought you said this would be a challenge," one of the girls said to Bri.

"I thought they were listening," Bri said with a shrug. She had destroyed three of the students.

"Bri, we could have taken them on ourselves," Jax said to Bri, loud enough for the men to hear. "There were only two of them who even tried.

"I know," Bri said, walking over to look at the results. The last person to be 'killed' was the man who had talked to her and he had made normal rookie mistakes that any viper pilot might make when they had no wingman.

"You set us up," the one man who had been the most vocal in her class said.

"Perhaps if you had listened to what I had said you might have done better," Bri said. "The only one who listened was Mark here."

"But you still set us up," he said.

"Of course she did," Mark said. "You think you're better than her, well she proved that she is much better than we are, even with all our training. We need to learn the rules of space combat. They are different than atmosphere combat."

Bri noticed that several of the men were agreeing with him. Perhaps this is what this group needed all along. Several were looking at her with a bit of a different look. They were looking past the small woman with green eyes and blond hair to an experienced pilot that was actually better than they were.

Troy looked at the group and noticed that most were now at least listening to her now. That was good news. He hoped for her student's sake they got the message this time. He would not want to be on the other end of her temper. If the group continued to learn then they might just make good pilots. It was not the first time he had noticed a bit of prejudice towards women in the groups from Earth. They would need the cooperation of everyone to survive probably.

At the Colonies the only way you did not make it was if you were not capable of doing the job. Otherwise people did not care what the person looked like or their personal thoughts as long as it did not endanger the group. Troy figured that is what happened after centuries of fighting an enemy other less important things were pushed to the side.

He looked back over to where Bri was talking to the group and telling them what they had done wrong. He knew they still had a long way to go before everything was cleared up.

BSGBSG

The door chimed to Ares' office and he gave permission for the person to come on in. Doctor Weaver walked into the office looking rather pleased with himself.

"Doctor, what can I help you with today," Ares asked, looking up from the papers on his desk.

"We've finished the design of the scout ship you wanted," Weaver said.

"Ah, good," Ares said taking a look at the design.

"We incorporated improved engines for fuel efficiency and added space for fuel and supplies and decreased the number of people on the ship to thirty," Weaver said. "I estimate that the trip would take about nine months round trip. They would be able to refuel once back at the Colonies hopefully."

"That is part of the plan," Ares said. "I think if they made contact with either Commander Cain or Backus they should be in good position to get supplies."

"That would probably be wise. It's probably not a good idea that the council knows about our mission just yet," Weaver said.

"No, they would probably go ballistic," Ares replied. "I've got my hands full with the Earth council already. I don't need the Council of the Twelve either."

Weaver chuckled at that. Many of the people he worked with were very professional and many talked about the Earth council. A lot of people did not know what the problem was in developing a fleet to help protect the planet. Since Senator Sam had taken over as the interim president things were moving smoother than before.

"Things are better recently though," Ares said. "At least I'm not being asked about a hundred times a day what I'm doing I can concentrate on my job."

"Oh, I almost forgot," Weaver said. "We are almost done with excavating the Atlantian ship on Centari One."

"Find anything interesting on it yet," Ares asked.

"Not yet," Waver said. "We're hoping to get it out of the ground and level so we can find more about it. Some translations have yielding nothing else other then 'enter' and 'exit' signs."

"Typical," Ares said. Such signs were all over starships. He would have to wait to see what else went on with that ship for a later date. "What about plans for a stardock big enough to begin construction on a battlestar," he asked.

"The design team just finished that one. It can build either a battlestar, one Tiger class gunstar, or two destroyers," Weaver said.

"That would be a nice addition for the fleet construction. Any ideas as to where to place it," Ares asked.

"We were thinking on the other side of Centari One. There are some more metal deposits on that side of the planet," Weaver said.

"What about fuel," Ares asked.

"We have a tylium mine set up on one of the planets we passed. All we really need a tanker to transport the fuel. We are already designing it right now," Weaver said.

"Go for a few ships quick to build first then design a tanker," Ares said. "We don't know how long we have until the Arbus attack again."

"I understand, it's been a quite three weeks since we last heard from them," Weaver said.

"Yeah, and we've only managed to replace the loss of the destroyer Cheetah," Ares said. "I'm sure that they have shipbuilding facilities that we do not have."

"Should we concentrate on building the facilities then," Weaver asked.

"No, keep on doing what you're doing," Ares said. "We'll rely on the viper squadrons for the moment for most of the protection."

"The factories on Earth on doing quite well at that," Weaver said.

"For that I'm thankful," Ares said knowing that the vipers could make up a lot when attacking other ships. A few bombers were starting to be developed against capital ships which would increase their defensive potential for the planets.

"We're already working on a new design for the destroyers based on the experience we gained from the Cheetah. We think we can increase the firepower of the ship with the addition of a few more gun emplacements," Weaver said switching the topic slightly.

"What type of firepower," Ares asked.

"Additional anti-fighter support for the larger ships. There simply isn't room for additional heavy weapons without redesigning the whole ship," Weaver said.

"All right keep me posted," Ares said. "Anything else that I should know about?"

"That's it commander," Weaver replied.

"All right, let me know when you have the new shipyard up and running then," Ares said.

BSGBSG

Gunther walked up to Commander Ares' office and waited until the door opened. He walked in and took a seat.

"Ares, what's going on," Gunther asked.

"I've got a new mission for you," Ares said.

"All right, I'm listening," Gunther said wondering what it was going to be this time.

"Work has begun on a new patrol ship that is intended to head back to the Colonies," Ares said. "I want you to be in charge of it."

"Me," Gunther said. He was sure that there were others who would want to go back to the Colonies.

"Yes, you've shown that you can command a ship effectively and you know much about the mission that we're on. I only want you to contact a few people," Ares said.

"Commander Backus or Commander Cain," Gunther said.

"Right," Ares said. "They will know the real reason as to your mission and will be understanding as to what is going on. They also should be able to resupply you for your trip back here."

"There and back, huh," Gunther said. "You know that we'll be gone for about a year don't you?"

"Yes, that's why you will be on a modified scout ship with s-metal to be able to hide from anyone," Ares said.

"Are you sure that one scout ship might not made a difference in this war," Gunther said.

"Yes. Besides we need to get a message out to the Colonies without risking the message be intercepted by the Cylons," Ares said. "If they know about Earth then if the Colonies fall they will make a bee line right for us."

"I understand commander," Gunther said.

"You will be able to assign you're crew but I would like Captain Scott to captain the ship with you in charge of the overall mission," Ares said.

"He's a good man," Gunther said having worked with the man several times.

"Yes, and when you get back there will probably be a ship waiting for you," Ares said.

"No more flying around in a viper for me," Gunther said with a slight smile.

"It happens to all of us eventually," Ares said. "Besides, I want to promote the best officers to the command position."

"Especially since we don't know who are clones and who are not," Gunther said.

"Right," Ares said. "With your crew try to take a mixture of people. I still need to know who I can trust and who I can't."

"Got that," Gunther said as he got up and walked out of the office.

Ares sat back in his chair thinking that it had been almost two years since they had left the Colonies. So much had happened in that time that he was not sure what to make of it all. He had discovered the legends were true, visited the ancient home world of Kobal, and was not involved in another war. It was not what he was expecting but he was here and would deal with it to the best of his abilities.

BSGBSG

Commander Pratt looked across the bridge of the Tiger to make sure that everything was still going along fine. The ship had been involved now in several battles against the Arbus. Now the ship was undergoing some repairs. It seemed odd to have a ship being repaired for a ship that had just been completed. The one thing that he was glad about was the ship appeared to be working just fine.

"How are the repairs coming," Pratt asked his second in command.

"We should be finishing up the repairs by the end of the day," the reply came back to him.

"Good," Pratt said. He did not like having his ship guarding the planet and being repaired at the same time.

"Sir, the Puma has entered our scanner range," the scanner operator said.

Pratt looked down to see that the destroyer was right on time. Now they see how the ship did and if any modifications would need to be done to make her fully operational. It was something that Pratt had discussed with Commander Ares. The ships needed a shakedown cruise to make sure that all systems were operational. It was decided that the best way was to have the ship fly to Earth and back while performing some system checks. Once back at Centari One it was going to perform a weapons test.

"Have the targets prepared for the Puma," Pratt said to the crew. Now they would find out how accurate the weapon systems were. Several of the targets were remote controlled drones that would simulate attacks on the ship.

The destroyer was supposed to have a superior anti-fighter weapon system. This would be the big test for it. The Cheetah which had a scaled down version was destroyed before they could adequately test the ship.

"Everything's ready commander," the second in command said to Pratt.

"Good, inform Captain Reliy that the targets will be ready whenever he is," Pratt said. With Gunther going to be commanding a new scout ship and heading towards the Colonies they needed captains that they could trust. Reliy had earned that trust at the ambush not that long ago. They were fortunate that he was commanding the Tiger and not Captain Ben. Otherwise they might be down a capital ship.

If the weapon system on the Puma worked it would be a great improvement against fighters that could be used later on against the Cylons. That was one think that was always in the back of his mind. It was a bit ironic, they were fighting a war to fight a war against two different enemies. He just hoped that this war against the Arbus did not last long.

End of A New Mission

Continued in Secret Base


	37. Chapter 37: Secret Base

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Secret Base**

Renee continued to look at her screen even though there was little that she had to do at the moment. There were a few patrols going at the moment but nothing that required a lot of concentration for her. It had been almost two months since there had been an attack on Earth. There had not been any new developments on the war so far. She was beginning to believe that the losses the Arbus had suffered had severely limited the campaigns against them. She knew that only time would tell for sure.

"Transferring coordinates to green patrol," she said as another patrol was about to launch. She received the reply back that the coordinates had been received. "Green patrol, launch when ready."

She looked over at the monitors to see the two vipers fly out of the launch tubes. It was something that she was used to seeing. She could think back to when she was on board the battlestar Pacifica. It had been quite an experience and so far this war had not yet equaled the Cylon war in its intensity. There was danger but so far nothing that could not be handled by the Argo.

Glancing at her screen she noticed something a bit different. Quickly running a few programs she hoped that there was enough time this time to get a more accurate location.

"Commander, I'm intercepting another transmission from the planet's surface," Renee said not looking up from her work.

Ares got up and walked over to where she was working. Several times strange messages had been intercepted coming from the planet's surface going to where they thought the Arbus came from. Ares thought that it might be a group of spies working on Earth's surface and perhaps with a few of their human clones as well.

"I think I was able to narrow it down even more," Renee said. It was hard to do but if the message kept coming from the same point then they had a pretty good location to work with. She brought up a screen with a map on it which pinpointed a location on the map.

"Have Captain Troy meet me in the briefing room right away," Ares said walking off the bridge leaving Renee in charge of the battlestar.

BSGBSG

Troy walked into the briefing room not sure what to expect. The only thing that he knew was he had been called by the commander to the room. They had not said what they had wanted. There had been no attacks by the Arbus so he was left to wonder the reason.

"Have a seat captain," Ares said, to him as he entered the room.

"Yes sir," Troy said, taking a seat across from Ares.

"I'm sure that you're wondering what you are doing here," Ares said, as Troy nodded his head. "It concerns the strange messages we've intercepted from Earth's surface."

"You think it might be a group of Arbus spies," Troy said thinking quickly.

"Yes," Ares said. "It's either a group of Arbus themselves or a group of clones who are reporting back to the Arbus. Either way we need to silence them. They are getting information about us and we are getting nothing in return."

"What do you need me to do," Troy asked.

"We've been able to narrow down the location on the surface to a small area. I want you to head up a team to find out the exact location and neutralize it," Ares said.

"Take out the station," Troy said.

"Yes," Ares replied. "And capture any Arbus in the area if you find any for questioning."

"Okay, do I have my pick of personal," Troy asked.

"Yes, as long as it doesn't affect our abilities to train the new recruits too badly," Ares said.

"I'm thinking about Bri, Nall, Jax and Rebecca," Troy said.

"Small team," Ares said.

"Yes sir," Troy said.

"Very well, but your team members are the only ones who will know about the mission," Ares said. He was hoping that with secrecy they would be able to neutralize the Arbus base on Earth.

"Understood," Troy said, getting up to walk out the door after Ares handing him the information of where the base was thought to be.

Ares watched as he left the room with a purposeful stride. He had confidence in the young man to succeed with the mission as it was the reason he had chosen Troy for it. With that base neutralized they would be able to concentrate on more serious problems.

BSGBSG

Bri and Troy walked down the street near where they had thought that the signals were coming from. The group was walking around blending in while looking for any buildings that might be holding something strong enough to send the signal in question. So far they had not discovered anything.

"Looks like a storm is coming in," Bri said, as they walked. Troy looked up and noticed the darkening clouds and realized that she was right.

"Perhaps we should head back before it hits then," Troy said as they turned around to head back to the hotel that they were staying at.

Troy looked around noticing that there were several buildings that could house such a communications device. He wondered if the others had found anything. He just hoped that they would be able to discover where it was without spooking anyone.

They barely made it into the hotel when the rain began. There were also several lightning strikes nearby followed by the thunder that rattled the windows. Troy looked out hoping that the others had made it back before the rain had started as well.

The door opened letting three drenched people into the building. Troy had his answer now as he looked at the three people. Nall was shaking himself off while the other two were trying to dry themselves.

"Got caught huh," Troy said to Nall.

"Yeah, but I like wet things so no problem," he said looking to Bri with a smile.

"Keep that up and I think you'll be safer out there with the lightning," Troy said looking at Bri then back outside.

"I know but I like living in danger," Nall said.

"Does that mean that things will always be this exciting," Rebecca asked from where she was trying to dry her hair.

"Yep," Troy said.

"Great, I don't know if I'll be able to stand that then," Rebecca said with a sigh.

"You'll manage," Nall said, throwing an arm around her shoulders. "Besides it makes life interesting."

"For you," Rebeca said.

"Come on, let's go to one of the rooms where you three can dry off a bit more," Troy said to them, as they turned to walk to one of the rooms.

"Did you find anything," Troy asked once they were in one of the rooms.

"Not really, what about you," Nall replied.

"There's too many possibilities at the moment," Troy replied.

"And if it's underground," Rebecca said bringing a whole new aspect to what they were looking for. If it was a large underground complex then it would be harder to find.

"We'll just keep our eyes out for something unusual then," Bri said.

"Sounds about right," Jax said. "We could set up a couple of listening stations to help locate the place."

"That would narrow down the direction," Troy said. "I'll contact the commander about it then."

BSGBSG

"Commander incoming report from the planet's surface. It's Captain Troy," Renee said to Commander Ares.

"I'll take it up here," Ares said to her, waiting for only a moment before the captain's voice could be heard.

"Have you found anything captain," Ares asked him.

"Not yet but we would like permission to bring in a few listening stations on the surface to better pinpoint the location," Troy said. "There are too many buildings to investigate and if its underground it could be anywhere."

"All right," Ares said. He had thought about that possibility but had hoped that Troy and a small team would be able to locate it easily. It now appeared that they would not so it was on to plan b. "I'll inform a small group to report to you for location of where to set up."

"Copy that, will be waiting," Troy said as they broke off the communication just in case the conversation was picked up by the enemy.

Ares sat back in his chair. He really wanted this base neutralized quickly. If they could capture a few Arbusians in the process then it would be even better. He hoped that the mission would remain a bit quiet even with the additional personal that would become involved. He thought about who to include in the group and realized that Doctor Weaver would have to be one of them.

"Get me Doctor Weaver at once," Ares said over the intercom. He did not have to wait long until the monitor came to life with Weaver's face on it. "Hello doctor."

"Commander Ares, what can I do for you today," Weaver asked.

"I need for you to come to Earth for a special assignment along with two others that you trust," Ares said.

"Is there anything else that I would need," Weaver asked wondering what he was going to be part of this time.

"No, everything else will be provided here doctor," Ares said.

"All right, we'll be on the next return flight on the Hermes," Weaver said.

"Good, I'll be waiting to see you then," Ares said as the line when dead. That brought the number of people involved in this mission up to eight. He hoped that the number involved was not too large to alert the Arbus that they might know about the base on Earth.

BSGBSG

Weaver knocked on the hotel door that he had been told was Troy and Bri's room. The door opened to reveal the blonde head of Bri. She recognized him and led him inside.

"Welcome doctor," Troy said as Weaver walked into the room. "I hope that your trip here was not too unpleasant."

"Nah, a bit bumpy but with the storms in the area it was to be expected," Weaver said. "I have two others along with the equipment," he said pulling out a small device.

"Is that what you'll be using to detect the signal," Bri asked looking at the small device.

"Yep, seeing as we are close to the signal we don't need anything to large," Weaver said. "The other two are at hotels in neighboring cities not that far away."

"Is that too far away," Bri asked.

"Nope, all I need is where they are and the direction of the signal," Weaver said pulling out a map. "They will be contacting me with the exact coordinates of where they are set up, then they will give me the direction. Once all three have the direction we'll be able to locate where the signal is coming from."

"I guess now all we can do is wait and watch for now," Troy said to the group.

"All right, I'll go get set up in my room as well. The moment I have anything I'll let you know captain," Weaver said getting up to leave.

"Doctor, be careful, we don't know who we can trust and who we can't here," Troy said.

"I will captain," Weaver said.

"Do you think we're in danger," Bri asked.

"I assume we are, just to be on the safe side," Troy said. "There are too many unknowns to thing that there is no danger."

BSGBSG

Troy and Nall sat at the hotel restaurant eating breakfast the next morning. They were waiting for Jax, Rebecca and Bri to show up still.

"So what do you think takes them so long," Nall asked. "After all you're married now."

"I don't know. I do know that it does take Bri a while to do her hair. She's always fussing over it," Troy said with a shake of his head. "I'm just glad mine hasn't started to fall out yet like my dad's has."

"No kidding," Nall said running his hand though his hair. "I did notice that Gunther's hair was thinning lately."

"Last I saw he shaved it real close," Troy said. "Could be worse, kinda like him," Troy said in a whisper and a pointing glance over at a white-haired man at a nearby table.

Nall glanced over and noticed that the man had taken his hair and tried to do a comb over. It looked really bad to Nall. "Good point, if I ever do that slap me."

"Only if you do the same thing to me," Troy said with a laugh but continued to look around. The man with the comb over caught his attention again. He was mumbling to himself or so it looked like. It was not that unusual with all the portable communication devices Earther's had.

The man got up after paying his bill and walked out. Troy thought that what he had seen was a bit interesting. He would have to tell the others later on. Looking up he saw the girls coming out of the elevator and walking towards them.

"Finally we can eat," Nall said.

BSGBSG

"So what's the plan for today," Bri asked when they arrived back at their hotel room.

"I really haven't thought too much about it. We could be here for a while so we'll have to start looking for something to do around here," Troy said. "We could try and find some local work nearby, say that we are new to the area."

"That might work, after all we don't know how long we are going to be here," Bri said.

"Yeah, I wasn't thinking about that when I started this mission," Troy said realizing that he was not thinking ahead for this mission.

"Wonder if we should talk to the others about this as well," Bri said.

"Probably," Troy said. "Is there anything around here to do that we could really use to explain our presence here."

"Honeymoon," Bri said to him.

"For us yeah, but what about the others," Troy asked.

"They can make up their own stories," Bri said.

"That would ruin the finding work story," Troy said.

"But a honeymoon would be so much more fun," Bri said.

"Now you sound like Nall," Troy said. "Are you sure that you two are not related?"

"Never," Bri said holding her head up at the thought before a smile came to her face.

"I remember one of the first times I saw you two," Troy said. "It was on the surface of Kobal."

"I pushed him down, yeah I remember," Bri said.

"I can remember thinking that you two were crazy but I was already falling for you," Troy said sitting down on the bed.

"I think I knew that as well," Bri said remembering that she had put a bit of sway in her hips as she walked away from Nall that day. She had the feeling that Troy had watched her and she was flirting.

A knock on the door interrupted their musings as Weaver came into the room. "We've got it captain," Weaver said to them.

"Get the others and I'll be right there," Troy said then turning to Bri. "Well I guess duty calls."

"Then we should go," Bri said walking to the door. She put a bit of sway in her hips as she had done that day back on Kobal.

"And I'll be right behind you," Troy said looking at his wife's ass as it swayed while following like a puppy.

BSGBSG

The group watched as Weaver pulled out the map to show them where the location that the signals were coming from. When he did Troy was also trying to see if he could remember what type of building it was in.

"We've located the position to here," Weaver said pointing to a spot on the map. "Remember that it's not that accurate as the base entrance could be further away."

Troy looked at the spot on the map. He was not that familiar with that area so he looked at Nall. Nall was looking trying to think of what was in that area that might stand out as an entrance to the base.

"Isn't that where we saw that one building that had no damage on it whatsoever," Rebecca said from where she was sitting.

"Now that you mention it yeah," Nall said. "There was one building in the area that had no damage on it from the invasion not that long ago."

"Perhaps they've already fixed it," Bri said thinking logically.

"True but they had not begun to fix any of the buildings around it and it did not look that important," Nall said as he thought about it. "Most of the construction in the two I've seen on the other side of town."

"True," Troy said as he thought about it. They were making their way across the town doing the rebuilding so that the supplies and manpower would be there. "I think we should check it out then."

With the plan made of where they were going to go they made plans if something went wrong as well. After the meeting was over Troy went back to his hotel room to contact Commander Ares. He was sure that the commander would want to know that they might have a lead to the whereabouts of the Arbus base.

BSGBSG

Troy walked around to the building that was in question. He looked at it without trying to be obvious about it. The building was in fact not damaged much at all. There was the normal chipped exterior from flying debris and a few other visible signs but aside from that nothing structural that Troy could see.

Then Troy spotted a man who he had seen before. It was the man he had seen with the bad comb-over as he was waiting for the girls to eat breakfast.

"Do you recognize him," Troy said to Nall who was walking with him.

"Yeah, that's the one we saw at breakfast in the restaurant," Nall said. "What's he doing here?"

"Not sure," Troy said. "But I have a feeling that he might be working with the Arbus."

Troy then began to walk towards the building with the intention of going inside to see what was in the building. Nall followed not that sure what Troy was doing. They had barely made it inside when they were looked at with suspicion.

"This is a private building," one man said coming up to them. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave."

"Private huh. Some sort of military secret then," Nall asked from where he was standing. Troy continued to look around to see if there was anything that he could tell was going on.

"You're going to have to leave sir," another man said coming up to them. Troy could see that this person was a bit more authoritative in his words and actions.

"All right," Troy said motioning to the others that they were going to leave.

"What was that about," Nall asked once they were out of the building.

"We have our entrance," Troy said quietly. "We would know if they were associated with the military. I think we should bring someone else in on this."

"Who," Nall asked.

"Actually I don't think we should hold anything back," Troy said walking to the hotel to contact Commander Ares.

"What are you thinking my friend," Nall said noticing that his smile looked like Bri's did when she had a truly evil idea.

"You'll see, and we'll be back to that building as well," Troy said.

BSGBSG

Rebecca glanced around at the group that had been assembled. After Troy had come back and talked with Commander Ares she knew that he had a plan. Now they were headed back to the building that Troy and Nall had tried to get into a few days earlier. Now as she looked there were more people and the current President Sam Harvey was with them.

The group walked back into the building this time with the intention of not stopping. The Battlestar Argo was in orbit as was the Tiger at the moment. This was to make sure that if anyone tried to get away they would be captured.

"I'm afraid that you cannot come in here," the man with gray hair said to the group.

"No I will because I want to know what is so private about this place that I have not been informed," Sam said as he walked straight up to the men. "So why don't you just go ahead and show me what you are doing?"

"I'm afraid that I cannot do that," the man said as a few others appeared.

"You will, that is a presidential order sir," Sam said with authority causing the man to hesitate.

"I'm sorry I cannot," the man said as he looked at the others that were with the president. They were soldiers and were armed. Right now several had their hands on their weapons waiting to see what would happen.

Bri's hand was on her weapon and she could feel her heart pounding in anticipation for what was going to happen. There was a tension in the air that she could smell it was so thick.

One of the men that was keeping them from the building suddenly drew a weapon causing the chaos to erupt. Weapons fire rang out all as people dove for cover and then returned fire.

"Well so much for the peaceful way," Bri said over to Troy as he fired a shot in the direction of other group.

"I didn't think it would be peaceful," Troy shouted back as a laser hit close to where he was.

"Just don't get hurt or killed or I'll kill you myself," Bri shouted back over the gunfire that was going on.

"I don't plan on it but the same goes to you as well," Troy said.

"Earthlings, surrender or we will destroy you. We have you outnumbered," a tinny voice said as the gunfire had stopped for a few seconds.

"I was hoping that you would think that," Sam said from where he was. "If you look outside you will see that you are the ones outnumbered. We have the building surrounded."

Troy had managed to look up to see what was going on from his position. He could see a few humans and two Arbus warriors or so he assumed. From what he could tell the two aliens looked a bit confused by what was going on. It really seemed like they did not know what to do when they were confronted.

"I think you would do well to surrender instead," Troy said from where he was crouching. They waited a few heartbeats to see what they were going to do.

"I don't think you understand humans, we have all the control not you," the alien finally said in its tinny voice. "We control all the humans."

"Not me you don't," Bri said as she fired a shot above the heads of the other group that began another round of hostilities.

A few more of the defenders of the building fell when Troy saw the two Arbus point weapons at themselves. He knew that they were going to do even before they pulled the trigger. The two aliens slumped to the floor and a high pitched wail pierced the building.

"This doesn't sound good," Nall yelled from where he was.

"I have to agree," Troy said. "All units, fall back at once," he said as the group pulled back from the building.

"What was that," Bri asked as they met up with the corporal that was leading the group outside the building.

"I think it's a self destruct," Troy said. "I think we should pull back even further," he told the corporal. "Have a general evacuation of the surrounding area of this building, probably a few blocks," he told him.

"Yes sir," the corporal said then instructing his men to carry out the order.

"Come on," Troy said to Nall, Jax, Bri and Rebecca. The group quickly ran down the street to where Troy thought they might be safe and set up a new headquarters with the men who followed him. "Now we wait."

It did not take too much longer when they all heard a loud explosion. They could see the dust of debris in the air as smoke began to rise from where the building was. They felt the concussion wave from the blast as it rolled away from the destruction causing the ground to quake and windows rattle a bit as well.

"I guess I should contact Commander Ares and tell him what happened," Troy said.

"He won't be that pleased," Nall said. They all knew that Ares had hoped to capture the base intact. For some reason the Arbus had a habit of blowing themselves up before being captured. That hindered gathering information about who they were and why they were attacking Earth.

"Nope, but it can't be help this time," Troy said as the President walked up.

"That didn't go quite as I expected," Sam said.

"Didn't go according to anyone's plans President Harvey," Troy said. "But I believe the base has been neutralized," he added.

"True," Sam said. "I leave you with the cleanup captain," Sam said as he turned to a waiting car to take him back to the council.

"Tomorrow is another day. Maybe we'll find something out in all this rubble," Nall said. "In the meantime lets go back home."

"Sounds good to me," Bri said wanting to head back to her quarters and relax.

"Let's go then, I'll give my report in person," Troy said as they walked towards a nearby shuttle to head to the Argo.

End of Secret Base

Continued in New Encounter


	38. Chapter 38: New Encounter

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**New Encounter**

Ares sat at the desk with General Pakrov across from him. Since the first meeting with the General their working relationship had gotten easier. With the election of President Harvey to the Earth government the military was enjoying the freedom that it required to fight this war. Right now they were going over the results of what had been discovered in the debris of the Arbus base.

"In short there was not much left commander," Pakrov said. Ares could hear the disappointment in the man's voice.

"Well that was to be expected with the force of the explosion. I was hoping that we might be able to discover something about our attackers," Ares said to him.

"You and me both," Pakrov said. "I hear that the newest ship is about to be completed."

"Yes, the Sprint, a scout ship. It will help the Puma with scouting duties," Ares said. "I was thinking about having Renee command the ship. She has had some command experience already with the Argo."

"If you think she can handle it," Pakrov said. "I'm the ground forces commander not the fleet commander."

"I know, I was just checking to see if there was anyone that you could think of," Ares said.

"Well there is Colonel Ramses but he is still new," Pakrov said.

"Yes, he does look promising, but I want him to gain experience with the Puma and Captain Ben before I promote him," Ares said. "We're going to have a lot of rapid promotions and with that problems are going to arise."

"Ex-navy people would be the best for this situation but most of the naval personal were killed in the invasion," Pakrov said.

"It was a loss," Ares said. "There is still a lot more than most people know as well."

"I keep hearing rumors about who built the Argo. Tell me the truth," Pakrov asked knowing that he had been told some of it by some but he wanted the full truth now.

"The truth, all right," Ares said having worked with the man long enough. "We're not from Earth, those rumors are a bit true. We're from twelve worlds called the Colonies. There were thirteen which set out from the world of Kobal a long time ago. A thousand of your years ago we entered into a war to help out one of our neighbors against a race of machines called the Cylons."

"Cylons," Pakrov asked. It was the name that Sam had given him and now had conformation about it.

"Yes, they were created by the organic Cylons and turned on them killing all the organic Cylons. Now they view all organic life as hostile to them," Ares said. "We have fought them for about a thousand of your years. We still get some reports from the Colonies to keep us up to date. Last we heard the fighting was still going on."

"So why are you here," Pakrov asked wanting to know.

"We're slowly losing the war," Ares said. "The council is reluctant to do anything to help the war effort despite the growing concerns of Commander Adama who is on the council. There is also a growing movement on the planets for peace. I don't think that peace with the Cylons will ever be possible."

"I can see where a civilization at war for so long would be tired of it," Pakrov said. "The longest war I can think of on Earth was about a hundred years."

"Yeah, our mission was to get Earth ready for two things. One was in case the Colonies fell for you to defend yourself. The other was to see if you could help," Ares said. "It was just a strange twist of fate that we arrived just before the Arbus did."

"I see, so then everything that President Harvey told me is correct," Pakrov asked watching as Ares nodded his head. "Are the Cylons really that much of a threat?"

"More than you can imagine," Ares said.

BSGBSG

Renee walked onto the bridge of the Sprint for the first time since she arrived. It was a bit daunting for her. Commander Ares had called her into his office to tell her about her next assignment. She had not imagined that she would be given her own ship. Now she was in charge of the crew. Part of her hoped that she would be able to live up to the expectations that Ares saw in her.

"Captain on the bridge," she heard someone say. For a brief second she almost turned to see who was coming on the bridge.

"Everyone at ease," Renee finally said walking over to the command chair of the Sprint.

"Captain, everything checks out and is ready," the second in command said. Renee had to think for a second until she could remember the man's name.

"Brett, thank you," Renee said. "We'll be heading to help out the Puma in recon. This will also be our shakedown cruise."

The Sprint headed out to begin its first mission. There would be a lot that would have to be tested for this cruise. It also gave the fleet four ships now. A battlestar, a gunstar, a destroyer and now a scout ship. The second dock was now underway. It would be large enough to build either one battlestar or two destroyers or a gunstar and a scout ship. A vast improvement over the other shipyard. It could only build one ship at a time.

Renee reported that the Sprint was now headed to the patrol zone to relieve the Puma that was currently on patrol. Everyone on board knew that the Arbus would return but did not know when or how many ships they would have.

BSGBSG

Captain Reliy watched on the screen as the captain of the Sprint came on the screen. He had heard that Renee had taken command of the ship but was not sure until just now.

"Captain Reliy, what's the situation," Renee asked, wanting to know if anything had been going on since she had last heard anything.

"Everything is still normal. We haven't intercepted anything since the raid on Earth," Reliy said. "Everything has also been quiet, something I'm not sure I like or not."

"Understand," Renee said, knowing that if everything was quiet that usually meant a calm before the storm.

The screen went dead and Reliy ordered the Puma to head back to Earth to rearm and refuel. The crew was actually getting used to the routine, at least as much as one could. Reliy knew that he really needed to give his men a break from the constant stress of combat patrol he had already talked it over with Commander Ares. They would be getting more time off as more ships came into the fleet.

"Set course for Jupiter," Reliy said as that was where the refueling base was at the moment. Until such time as a tanker ship would be built they had to make do with the one supply base.

"Yes sir," the reply came as the Puma began to head out as the Sprint arrived in the area.

BSGBSG

Troy looked at the report one more time. It was the conclusion of the debris of the Arbus base. There had not been much left that was for sure.

"What did they find," Bri asked as she sat down next to him.

"Not a lot," Troy said. "Most of the base was destroyed in the explosion. This war is getting to be a real mystery. Who are they and what did they want?

"That doesn't solve any of our questions," Bri said.

"No, it just raises even more," Troy said. They really wanted to understand the enemy a bit more. If they knew what the enemy was after then it would help out to determine the course of the war.

"So what's the next step," Bri asked wondering if there was any other plan.

"Don't have one," Troy said. "Right now they have a lot more information than we have. Though I bet the appearance of the Argo caused quite a bit of problems for them."

"Is that why Ares stopped talking about where we are from," Bri asked.

"Yeah, he felt that it gave us a bit of an advantage with that type of knowledge. And it looks like it has worked out," Troy said.

"There is a lot of things that can still happen," Bri said. "But I think we have given them a lot of pause in this war."

"I think you're right," Troy said. He just wished that they had more of an idea as to what was going on in this war.

BSGBSG

Commander Pratt listened to the normal chatter of the bridge of the Tiger. It was a lot like the Argo with everything that was going on. The flight officers were maintaining and launching combat patrols to make sure that they were not surprised by the Arbus. The Spirit and Puma were making patrols but they did not have proof that the Arbus homeworld was in that direction.

"Commander, incoming message from one of the patrols," his flight officer said.

"Put it though," Pratt said wondering what was going on.

"Commander, we've just encountered a mysterious contact on our scanners," the pilot said. "The direction is different from the direction that the other Arbus ships have come in from.

"Interesting," Pratt said. "I'll contact the Argo and see what Commander Ares and General Pakrov have to say. Keep an eye on the ship and let me know if anything changes."

"Yes sir," the pilot replied.

Pratt turned to contact Ares which did not take very long. The man quickly asked what was going on. Pratt sometimes wondered if the man had already knew what was going on.

"Our patrol has encountered a ship of unknown origin," Pratt said. "The direction that the ship is coming from is different than the direction that the Arbus usually come from."

"Interesting," Ares said. "Keep an eye on it and I'll talk with the others to see if they know anything."

"Understood commander," Pratt said as the line when dead. He then ordered yellow alert just in case the incoming ship became hostile.

BSGBSG

Troy and Bri walked into the briefing room wondering what was going on. Also in the room was now senator Robert, and General Pakrov. Troy could tell that the President was also listening in on the meeting. Whatever this was, it was important.

"Everyone is here, good," Ares said. "I've just received word from the Tiger that their patrols are tracking an unknown ship near Centari One. So far we're not sure if the ship is an Arbus ship or not. It might be a new type of ship trying to go around our defenses."

"It might be someone else," Troy said. "It could be an ally of some sort?"

"I've thought about that as well. We are keeping constant communications with Centari One in case the ship is an Arbus attack ship," Ares told the group.

"We should also remember that the Arbus are capable of creating clones," Bri said. "So even if the crew of this ship does not seem to be Arbusians they could be clones working for them."

"Good point Bri," Ares said. It was a point he had missed.

"Or they could be exactly what they appear to be," Pakrov stated. "We don't want to miss out on an opportunity to lose any potential allies either."

"That's why I have called you all together. If this is a potential ally then I would like for Captain Troy and lieutenant Bri to head up a delegation to meet with them," Ares told the group.

"I'll give them my support," Sam said. He knew that the two were trustworthy even though they were not from Earth. They might have also encountered this race before.

"No one has any objections," Ares asked.

"None here," Robert said.

"Good, Troy get your team together then report to the Hermes to head to Centari One," Ares said.

BSGBSG

Renee received a report from the command headquarters that an unknown ship was approaching Centari One. She knew that they would have to be on a higher alert if this was a diversion.

The report also stated that the Puma was on its way to Centari One to back up the Tiger. Her ship was to back up the Argo just in case.

"Anything new on the scanner," Renee asked hoping that there was not.

"No ma'am," the reply came. That made Renee feel a bit better but she still wanted to maintain a high alert. The last thing she wanted to do was make a mistake that would cost people their lives.

"All right," she said addressing the crew. "As many of you now know a patrol has picked up an unknown ship nearing Centari One. This might be a diversion so everyone to maintain a high degree of alert, and be aware."

The crew members nodded their heads as they listened to what she said. Several had the same thought as they listened to what she said. The Arbus had not been heard of in the last couple of weeks and this would be just something that they would do.

Renee could only hope that the situation at Centari One would have nothing to do with the current war against the Arbus. That would make the best of every situation.

BSGBSG

Pratt looked out over his bridge as he continued to monitor the situation. He had learned from Ares that the Hermes was heading back to Centari One with a delegation in case this ship was an unknown race.

"All preparations are ready commander," his second in command said.

"Good, engage engines at one half then," Pratt said. They had decided to have the Tiger intercept the incoming ship before it could arrive at the base.

Pratt had to agree that the logic of not allowing the ship to know about the base was the best decision. Centari One had been a more secure base because there were few who could tell anyone where it was located. Most Earthers did not know where the base was. That and the trap that they had sprung against the Arbus had helped make the base more secure.

"Unknown ship now on our scanners sir," the scanner operator said. "If their scanners are anything like ours then we are still invisible to them."

"Let's hope so," Pratt said. They knew that the Arbus had scanners much like theirs in detection abilities. He just hoped that the 'stealth' metal would hide the Tiger from this ship until they had more information.

"Range is closing, still no movement from target," the scanner operator said. That was a good thing to everyone. No movement usually meant that the ship had not detected them yet. The only problem was that the unknown ship would head straight to Centari One if the Tiger did not distract it.

Pratt resisted the urge to pace as the range came down. He was nervous about what was going to happen. There were many different scenarios that were going though his mind. This group could be a lot of different things from an ally of the Arbus to a group with no contact at all with the Arbus.

"Target had changed speed," the scanner operator said. "They are still on the same course."

Pratt figured that the unknown ship had finally discovered the Tiger. "Open a hailing frequency," he ordered. This was the next step. Would this group talk to them or open fire.

"Frequency open commander," the reply came to him. Now the only thing he could do was wait for their reply. Pratt wondered how long it would take before there was a reply from the unknown ship.

"Receiving transmission," the communications officer said.

Pratt quickly looked at his screen as he heard something that he did not think that he would hear.

"Earthers, we come in peace," the voice said. "We ask for protection from the Arbus."

"This is not what I was expecting," Pratt said loud enough that the crew could over hear him before replying. "This is Commander Pratt of the Earth ship Tiger. Please stop and do not come any closer for now," Pratt said more to by some time than anything else.

"Unknown ship has stopped commander," the scanner operator said.

"Well it appears that Captain Troy will have something to do when he gets here after all," Pratt said.

BSGBSG

"Captain, call for you laddie," Captain Scott said to Troy.

"Thanks captain," Troy said to the captain of the Hermes. Troy waited until Commander Pratt's face appeared on the screen.

"Captain Troy, it seems that you will be needed after all," Pratt said.

"I take it that contact has been made," Troy said.

"Yea, and they are asking for protection," Pratt said.

"From who," Troy said thinking that he already knew who it was from.

"The Arbus," Pratt replied. "This is going to be complex captain."

"It already is," Troy said knowing that there was a lot to do now. Could they even provide protection for another group when they were stretched so thin just defending themselves. This is how they got involved in the war against the Cylons.

"Problem laddie," Scott asked.

"Not yet," Troy replied. "Just thinking about something else."

"Raising more questions than it answered," Scott asked him.

"Yeah, it also makes things a bit more complex. Why are they fleeing from the Arbus," Troy said asking the question that he had thought about. This would be a delicate situation that was for sure.

BSGBSG

Pratt was told the moment that the Hermes was in range. A shuttle had been launched to head to the Tiger with Troy, Bri and Senator Robert. Those three would make up the diplomatic team that would be heading over to the unknown ship. They would be stopping on the Tiger to pick him up before heading on over.

"Commander, shuttle is landing in the bay now," he was told snapping him out of his deep thoughts. He had stood there thinking the entire time the shuttle had taken to fly over to the Tiger.

"I'll be right there," Pratt replied before heading down to the landing bay. "Keep our alert status on yellow. If attacked don't hesitate to reply just because we're over there."

"Understood sir," the reply came as Pratt walked off the bridge towards the hanger.

BSGBSG

Troy and Bri landed the shuttle in the landing bay and waited for a second while they looked around. There was a group of figures standing at the far end of the bay. From what Troy could tell they were unarmed and seemed non-threatening.

"Well, guess its time to meet the locals," Robert said from where he was sitting.

The group exited the shuttle and waited not really sure what to do. Bri and Troy were on their guard if something happened. Robert had a weapon but he concealed it underneath his jacket. He did not want anyone to really know that he was armed. Troy and Bri were in their normal uniforms with the gun belt on.

One of the figures stepped forward and Troy guessed that this was the leader of the group. The alien address them welcoming them on board.

"Welcome on board our vessel," the alien said. "I am Keela," he said. "We are also victim of the Arbus."

"You speak our language," Troy asked wondering about that.

"Yes, learned though contact then conflict with Arbus," Keela replied. "Have war with them for many year. Been looking for ally to help in fight."

"Perhaps, I am Captain Troy of the Battlestar Argo, this is Lieutenant Bri also of the Argo and Senator Robert Yukut of the Earth Senate," Troy said introducing the group.

"Would you care to sit down, we have room where we may all sit and talk," Keela stated.

"That would be most kind," Robert replied for the group.

They walked down the hallway towards the room. Troy watched everyone to see if he could see anything that might cause him any reason to mistrust them. He wondered what their relationship with the Arbus was. He had not seen any Arbus so far or anything that he could tell was Arbus.

The room they were led to had normal height chairs for the aliens they were with. The aliens were a bit taller than normal humans so the chairs were a bit larger. Bri was not exactly happy with the fact that everything was larger than normal.

"Thank you Keela," Troy said as they sat down. The larger chair and table made Bri seem like she was even younger than she was and he had to fight not to laugh. He turned his attention back to Keela.

"My race is called the Skartian," he said to them. "We have been spacefaring race for many year. Meet the Arbus one hundred of your year ago. They were friendly at first, then they attack us."

"Any idea as to why," Troy asked.

"No, only that they did, not sure why," Keela replied.

"How did they attack you," Troy asked thinking about it.

"They attack us with our own people, clone people," Keela replied.

It made sense to Troy. The Arbus had probably been visiting Earth for a while placing clones in places of power to give them an advantage.

"Sounds familiar," Bri mumbled from where she was sitting.

"We hear of you fighting our enemy, so we come and meet with you," Keela said. "My people do not know what to do anymore. We live in ships running from them."

"Can you tell us anything about their military, how many ships they might have or anything like that," Troy asked. Such information might go a long way to finding out if they had damaged the Arbus military machine.

"Unknown," Keela replied.

"Its all right," Troy replied.

"Will you help us," Keela finally asked, looking at them.

"I don't have authority to make any deals but I can start the process with our government," Robert said.

Troy sat back while Keela and Robert talked. He would only interrupt if there was something that needed to be talked about some more. He had a good feeling about this meeting at the moment. He liked this group for now.

BSGBSG

Ares sat on the bridge worried about what was going on. There had been nothing from the Tiger except that the delegation had gone on board. He was hoping that nothing had happened to them. So far the aliens had done nothing other than sit there for now. Part of Ares wished that he was there right now instead of here at Earth.

"Commander Ares, President Harvey wants an update with the current situation," the communications officer said.

"Tell him that we still don't have anything new yet," Ares said. "But that there has been no hostile action taken."

"Very well commander," the officer said. No one was sure as to what was going to happen with this unknown ship. Several rumors were already going around but there was nothing solid yet.

"Incoming communication from the Tiger," the officer said a few minutes later.

"Put it though up here," Ares said waiting as Captain Troy's face appeared on the screen. "Captain, what is the situation?"

"They are called Skartians, and their ambassador is Keela. It seems that they were attacked in the same way as we were. Clones were used to disrupt their government and military institutions," Troy said. "They are asking for help from the Arbus. I would feel safer if they went to Earth than Centari One."

"So would I," Ares said. He wanted to keep the base as secret as he could.

"Senator Robert and Keela worked out a tentative working relationship for now," Troy said. "I have it here. You can relay it to the President for his review."

"I will do that once we are done," Ares said.

"Good, we will need to know their answer soon," Troy said. "Any other news from the other sectors?"

"No, did the Skartians tell you anything about the Arbus military strength," Ares asked.

"No, they did not know much. Only that they had been attacked by at least six ships," Troy said.

"And we've destroyed at least ten of their ships by now," Ares said. "All right, good work. We'll decide what to do later on. Have you and Bri return to the Argo."

"Yes sir," Troy said.

End of New Encounter

Continued in New Attack


	39. Chapter 39: New Attack

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**New Attack**

Ares sat back at his desk going over what had been uncovered by the Skartians. They appeared to be a normal race much like they were. The Arbus had appeared and worked with them for a short while then had attacked them. It was slightly different than what the Arbus had done against them. The Arbus had not even tried to announce their arrival before attacking.

The one thing that was similar was the way the Arbus attacked. They had used clones that were loyal to them to cause disruption in the way the military was able to defend against them. Once the military was gone then that was something that Ares was not sure about. He would have to talk with Keela as to what the Arbus did to their world.

Ares had a feeling from what he had learned on Earth that the Arbus were trying to wipe all evidence of civilization on Earth for some reason. What that reason was he did not know and hoped to find out soon.

"Commander," Ares heard Reliy's voice say as he walked up to the commander.

"Yes colonel," Ares replied wondering what was going on.

"Just letting you know that the Sprint has started their patrol mission," Reliy said.

"Good, this will be a good test for Renee," Ares said. The young woman was working hard to make sure that she was a good captain of a ship. Ares had the feeling that she would do just fine. "The Ant is also coming along just fine as well. It should be completed soon as well," Ares said talking about the next destroyer that he dock yards were working on.

"Yes, I hear it is an upgrade of the Puma," Reliy stated.

"Upgraded weapon systems, but the Ant will not have the S-metal on it," Ares said.

"Still working to make it stronger so resist attacks," Reliy asked.

"Yes, I don't want to endanger lives for thinner armor on some ships," Ares said. "We've already had to repair the Argo's S-metal covering a few times. I've thought about doing the same thing with the other ships as the Argo but we need ships."

"Well if we have a group of stealth ships that can patrol without being seen then a normal fleet with heavier armor can come in for the kill," Reliy said.

"Yes that is the thinking at the moment," Ares replied. A small patrol fleet to scout for the main battle fleet. In war information meant a lot.

"I'll let you know when the Hermes arrives," Reliy replied.

Ares watched as Reliy walked off to his station. The next ship that they needed to complete was the first ship of the tanker class. It would be able to take materials from the Tylium mine in Earth's system to Centari One. As it was every ship had to go to the base to fuel up now.

BSGBSG

Renee made her way to the cafeteria on board the Sprint. They had started their patrol and felt confident enough in the crew to finally get something to eat. She would have to as they were going to be on patrol for the next three weeks. When the Sprint arrived back at the mining base for refueling the fleet should have another ship, the Ant ready.

Renee had just sat down when her communicator went off. She picked it up and answered it.

"Renee here," she said.

"Colonel, scanners have picked something up. We would like for you to come up here," her second in command said.

"Be right there," she said. The internal communicator was something that they were going to have to get used to. Each person had one that was tied into a separate computer to allow communications in the ship between the crew.

Looking at her food with a sigh she turned and walked out of the cafeteria towards the bridge. Upon arriving at the bridge she was greeted with chaos all over.

"What's going on," Renee finally asked not sure what to make of the chaos going on.

"We've spotted two attack class Arbus ships along with another unknown ship that is larger than the others," Brett said from the scanner position.

"Three Arbus ships," Renee said. "Get me Commander Ares at once."

Renee was not sure that she really like what was about to happen. With three Arbus ships heading towards Earth the Sprint was sure to be in the middle of combat. She could only hope that she was ready to handle a combat situation.

"Colonel Renee, what's wrong," Ares asked as he face appeared on the scanner.

"Our scanners have identified three Arbus ships on their way to Earth. Two attack class ships and one unknown that is larger than the others," Renee said.

"I see," Ares said thinking quickly. "Send us the report of their position and direction. Then I want to follow them until you receive new instructions," he told her.

"Understood commander," Renee said relaying the order to the scanner operator.

"Do you think they are going to head for Earth," Brett asked.

"I think so, their path would lead them right to Earth, but only three ships, that doesn't make sense," Renee replied.

"You're right, they should know that we have the power to repel an attack of that size," Brett said. "Something doesn't make sense."

"How close do we have to be to get a scan of the ships," Renee asked.

"Probably too close, we would be spotted before completing the scan," Brett replied.

"That's what I thought," Renee said, as what Brett had said went though her mind. Something here did not add up and she wanted to know what that was.

BSGBSG

Bri walked up to Troy who was lying down on the bed.

"What's up," he asked her seeing the look on her face.

"The Arbus are about to strike again," she said. "It seems that we'll be sitting this battle out though."

"What," Troy asked wondering what she was talking about.

"Captain Scott just received word from Commander Ares that an Arbus attack fleet was heading to Earth. We're to stay here at Centari One until the attack is over," Bri said.

"Oh, great," Troy said not liking the fact that he was going to be sitting here doing nothing.

"There's not much we can do right now anyways," Bri said. "Nall and Jax are still there making sure that the squadrons are operating smoothly. They will be able to handle the situation."

"I know, I just like to be there," Troy replied.

"There's little we can do except listen to the updates that Captain Scott receive," Bri told him.

Troy resigned himself to waiting for any new reports even though he did not like it.

BSGBSG

Ares looked over the data that had been received from the Spirit. He had already sent out the Puma in a direction that was a bit different from the current vessels. The main concern was that there were only three ships approaching Earth. He had a feeling that this might be a diversion for a larger group of attack ships. The last thing he wanted was to be caught off guard.

He knew that the Puma should be in position in the next couple of minutes. Then he would know if there was anyone else from that direction. The bridge of the Argo was feeling a bit tense at the thought that a battle was about to occur. No one was sure as to what type of battle it was going to be.

Ares also knew that there was also the ongoing situation of the Skartians who had appeared not that long ago near Centari One. The one thought that kept going though his mind was were the two connected. He hoped that the two groups were not but he could not ignore it either.

"Sir, the Puma is checking in," Rebecca said.

"Good," Ares said knowing that he would now have his answer to one of his many questions.

"Commander, we've found nothing in the area," Reliy said.

"Good, make you way to section eight then," Ares said planning his own little trap for the incoming ships.

"Yes sir," Riley said as he relayed the instructions to his crew. "Anything else," he asked.

"Just keep your scanners open just in case," Ares said then the line when blank.

Ares sat back glad that there were no other ships that they knew about. That did not rule out any other ships coming either. The fact that one of the Arbus ships was larger than any others did concern him. Was the ship a transport, or was it a new attack ship that they had yet to tangle with. If that was the case did they have larger ships as well?

"Prepare all sections for combat," Ares said finally. "We have two hours before they arrive."

The Argo went into preparations for combat. Ares sat back wondering if the people who had constructed the battlestar would have imagined what it would be fighting against. He figured that they did not. The battlestar was designed to fight the Cylons.

Ares sighed as he realized that he was going into battle again. He wondered how many more battles he would have against the Arbus, and if he would ever fight against the Cylons again. He thought over the latest reports from the Colonies. That was something that was kept hidden from many of the others. The latest reports were about the same as the others. The war was still going on just like it had for generations.

BSGBSG

Renee watched on the scanner as the three Arbus ships kept on their course to Earth. The three ships were not trying to be quiet in their approach to Earth that was for sure. They were headed straight to the planet. That made Renee think that perhaps there was something else going on.

"Do we know what direction they will be coming in from at Earth," Renee finally asked.

"Its coming in now," the scanner said. "Interesting," he said looking at the reports.

Renee wondering what the scanner operator was talking about walked over to see for herself. She glanced at the scanner and noticed that the operator was correct. There was something wrong about the entire flight path. She looked some more at it before noticing something.

"Get me Commander Ares at once," Renee said.

"What's up captain," Ares said to Renee as his face appeared on the screen.

"I think the target is not Earth, but our fuel station," Renee said.

"Fuel station," Ares said not sure he like that. If they managed to destroy the fuel supply then they would be just sitting ducks. Now he had a problem. One battlestar, three enemy ships and two potential targets.

"Yes sir," Renee said. "The course would have to change for them to attack Earth."

"I see," Ares said. "Keep with them," Ares told her. As he signed off.

Renee knew that her information was not that good. It meant that there were two targets. It also meant that somehow they had learned about the fuel station and how little fuel they had in reserve.

"We maintain our speed and course. Let me know the moment the Arbus ships change anything," Renee said, walking back up to her command chair.

"Yes ma'am," the replies came.

BSGBSG

"Captain Reliy, change in plans," Ares said to him. "Meet up with the Argo. "We're going out to meet them."

Ares had figured that he could not allow the Arbus ships to get too close to either Earth or the fueling station. That would have problems for them. Hitting them further out would solve a lot of problems as to where to be.

Reliy replied that the Puma would be ready and signed off. Ares turned to the bridge crew and rattled off the orders. It would leave the Earth with only the fighter squadrons for defense but he hoped that it was worth it.

"Commander Ares," his scanner came alive and he noticed General Pakrov's face. "I hear that the Argo is going to be leaving."

"There are three Arbus ships heading towards us," Ares said.

"Surely you would have a better chance with the fighter squadrons from Earth by staying," he asked.

"That is true, if they are headed here, but I now have reason to believe that they are headed to the fueling station," Ares told him.

"Oh boy," Pakrov exclaimed. "That could set us back a ways."

"Yep," Ares said. "The fuel ship won't be ready for another week either. If we lose that base then our entire war effort would be crippled."

"You know what that means then," Pakrov said.

"Yes, we still have spies, or that was what they were sending when we destroyed the base on Earth," Ares said. "I'll leave that in your hands then."

"I have the time to do something about it. You just get ready for the upcoming battles, and good luck commander," Pakrov said.

"Thank you general," Ares said as they signed off.

"Contact at current speed and heading will be thirty minutes," Rebecca said to Ares.

"Get me the Puma and Sprint," Ares said.

"Captains Renee, Reliy," Ares said after they were both on the screen. "We're going to be attacking. The Argo and Puma will attack head on. The Spirit will attack the rear ship in hopes of confusion. Don't try to slug it out with them. Use your speed to your advantage Renee."

"Understood sir," Renee said.

BSGBSG

"All viper pilots report to you vipers," the voice though the hanger deck.

"Mount up everyone," Jax yelled to the group. With Bri and Troy gone she was ranking fighter pilot on board the Argo. It was a position that she was not used to.

"Everything's ready lieutenant," the flight crew officer said to her as she approached her viper.

"Thanks," Jax replied as she climbed up and into her viper. He handed her the helmet. Turning on her systems she could hear the engines begin to whine as they came to life.

"Green squad, launch when ready," the flight controller said over the communicator.

"Understood core command," Jax said as she looked down the launch tube. With a breath she pushed down on the thrusters causing the viper to rush down the tube and into space.

"All right green squad, form up on me," Jax said taking over as squad leader. "Our target is to keep any Arbus fighters from our ships."

Jax heard the replies come from the rest of the squadron. The other squadron was to attack the incoming ships weapons systems. She knew that one of the ships was larger than an attack class Arbus warship but there was no other information besides that.

She scanned local space for any targets that they would be able to engage. It did not take long before several Arbus fighters began to emerge from the incoming ships.

"All right green squad, engage," Jax said as she activated her attack scanner as she headed into the middle of the battle.

BSGBSG

"All fighters have engaged the enemy," Rebecca said to Ares.

"Good," Ares said. "Take us in an open fire."

The Argo turned slightly to engage the enemy ships. Its weapons opened fire on the lead ship as the Puma not far behind it also opened fire on the Arbus ships.

The Spirit coming up from the rear waited until it was in range before the ship opened fire as well. The enemy did not know where to attack first. The stealth metal made it hard for the Arbus to lock onto the human ships.

"Commander, the escorts seem to be breaking off the attack," Rebecca said to Ares.

"What about the other ship," Ares asked.

"Nothing yet," she said continuing to monitor her screen for any changes. "It is still heading towards us though."

Ares was not sure that he liked that piece of information. Something was going on that he just had not been able to figure out yet. The two Arbus attack ships were pulling back yet the larger ship continued to close with them.

"Shift fire to the larger ship," Ares finally said after a few minutes of thinking.

"Are you sure commander," Rebecca asked.

"Yes," Ares said. "There is something going on here and I want to find out what it is."

The Argo shifted its fire from the Arbus attack ships to the larger ship that they had escorted. The main guns of the ship opened fire on the Arbus ship getting hits right away. The large ship suddenly began powering up.

"Power up detected on the Arbus ship commander," Rebecca said.

"Weapons power up," Ares asked.

"Unknown," Rebecca replied as she continued to monitor the situation.

"All ships, be aware, large power up coming from the largest ship," Ares said over the communicator to the Puma and Spirit. "Put a bit of distance between us and that ship."

The large ship turned a bit to and put a bit of distance between the two ships. Ares was not going to take a chance that the ship was powering up its weapons for a close strike.

"Its weapons build up commander," Rebecca said as the energy suddenly spiked. "She's firing!"

"All hands brace for impact," Ares said as the Arbus ship suddenly opened fire.

The Argo was rocked a bit by the impact of the Arbus weapons fire. Ares stayed on his feet even though a few of his crew were thrown to the floor.

"Medical crew to the bridge, return fire," Ares said.

"Weapon systems are still operational, returning fire," Rebecca replied.

"Prepare missiles for firing," Ares said not wanting to remain in this battle for much longer. It was obvious now that the larger ship was a warship. He was not sure if it was new or just a larger ship that the Arbus had in their fleet.

"Forward batteries locked on commander," Rebecca said as the Argo turned again to bring its forward main weapons to bear.

"Fire," Ares said as the Argo returned fire to the large Arbus ship.

BSGBSG

"Captain," Reliy turned to see Gunther pointing to the screen. Reliy looked down to see the large Arbus ship attacking the Argo. From the scanners it appeared that the large Arbus ship was a battleship or something like that.

"Where are the attack ships," Reliy asked.

"Over here," Gunther told him as they looked at the screen. "They've headed towards the Spirit's position."

"All right, what about the Arbus' fighters," Reliy asked.

"Our fighters are currently engaged with theirs. It might be some time before we can pull some away from that mission," Gunther replied to him.

"All right, get me Captain Renee," Reliy said. He did not have to wait that long until she appeared on the screen.

"Make it quick, I've got company coming," Renee said as she looked at him.

"That's what I wanted to talk to you about. It appears that they are singling you out at the moment," Reliy said. "Your ship is quicker than theirs is so let's use that to our advantage."

"What did you have in mind," Renee asked.

"Circle around on vector alpha, and that should put you close to my position. I've moved the Puma out a bit and right now I'm not sure they even know I'm here," he told her.

"Catch them looking the other way," Renee said.

"Yeah," Reliy said.

"What about the Argo," she asked.

"The Argo can take care of herself just fine," Reliy said.

"All right," she said as she relayed the heading to her crew.

BSGBSG

The Spirit used her speed to out run the Arbus attack ships and headed towards the Puma which had stopped firing and turned away to appear to be retreating. The Arbus ships continued to try and close with the Spirit. Having two ships it made it a bit easier to try and corner the smaller ship.

The Arbus ships had just come back into range when the Puma opened fire again from her new hiding spot. The hit damaged the Arbus' engines systems which affected the entire ship. Its weapon fire died down to almost nothing and its speed was severely reduced.

The other Arbus ship was caught looking the other way when the Puma had attacked. Now it was torn from going back to help the other damaged ship or continue to attack the smaller ship. The Arbus ship continued on its way after the Spirit.

The Puma decided to continue to attack the damaged Arbus ship so that it would not be able to get back into the fight.

BSGBSG

"Commander, one of the attack class ships has been disabled," Rebecca said as the Argo rocked from another hit.

"Good, that means that the Spirit and Puma can handle themselves. Continue firing at the main target right now," Ares said.

Rebecca understood and the Argo continued to fire on the Arbus ship. So it seemed to be a slugfest between the two large ships. The Argo was giving as good as she was receiving at the moment.

"Missiles are ready and armed commander," Rebecca said.

"Good, launch one and two," Ares said as the weapons officer pushed the button and the two weapons raced out of their silos.

Ares watched as the two missiles were launched. These were made on Earth so they were not quite as powerful as the ones from the Colonies. He also wanted to see how destructive they were.

"Direct hit commander," Rebecca said as the missiles struck the large ship. Its armor was effective but the two missiles caused extensive damage. "Arbus ship retreating from battle commander."

"What about the other ships," Ares said.

"One is suffering multiple internal explosions the other is retreating as well," Rebecca said.

"It's over for now," Ares said with a sigh of relief. "Let's go home."

The Argo, Puma and Spirit turned and headed back to Earth. The Argo would be requiring some repairs but otherwise they appeared to have come though the conflict just fine.

BSGBSG

Ares walked into the meeting room where President Harvey and General Pakrov were waiting. They were wondering about the outcome of the battle. They had heard that a new Arbus warship had been encountered and what to do with the Skatians.

"Welcome home commander," Harvey said as Ares sat down.

"It's good to be home," Ares said as he thought about that statement. He was slowly beginning to think of Earth as home for now.

"So what happened," Pakrov asked wondering what had happened and what the damage to the fleet was.

"The captain of the Spirit noticed something strange about the course of the incoming Arbus attack fleet," Ares said. "She then plotted the course and noticed that it was headed to our fueling station, not Earth."

"Fueling station? Doesn't make much sense," Harvey said.

"Actually if they had destroyed that we would not have the fuel to operate our ships," Pakrov said. "We don't have enough reserve yet to survive."

"Oh," Harvey said not sure he liked that news. "I'm not sure I like the sound of that."

"Right, the fact that they knew where it was, and our dependency on it makes me question something's. That is why right now we're keeping the location of Centari One and the new base that will start construction next week top secret. Only a few will know where it is," Ares said. "I'm no longer sure that Centari One is unknown by the Arbus anymore."

"But if its attacked it can defend itself right," Harvey asked.

"Yes, and with the Tiger there it's a very dangerous place to try an attack," Ares said. "But that leads me to the next problem. It seems that the Arbus have a larger attack ship, maybe a battleship class that we just encountered."

"How serious a threat does it pose," Pakrov asked.

"Well, it could go toe to toe with a battlestar, not win but could inflict damage. We will have to make repairs to the Argo's armor, a few of the viper launch bays, and other areas but it is still operational and will not have to be put out of action because of the damage," Ares said.

"That's good news," Harvey said. "Now what about our new visitors?"

End of New Attack

Continued in Time


	40. Chapter 40: Time

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Time**

Ares walked on board the Skartian ship that was now orbiting Earth. The Skartians were typically larger than a human was but with skin that had a bit of a reptilian look to it.

"Welcome Commander Ares," the Skartian said.

"Thank you," Ares said. He was waiting until the pilot said that he was ready for the flight down to Earth. Keela was to meet with the council to see what the next step was. Perhaps his story would make the council see that there was a larger threat to their race by the Arbus than what the council thought.

"Sir, we're ready to head on down to the surface," Troy said walking up to him.

"Thanks Troy," Ares said.

"If I ask, how did you escape first attack," Keela asked, as they walked to the shuttle.

"We got lucky that the Argo was here," Ares said.

"Argo," Keela asked not sure about it.

"Truth," Ares said looking at the alien. He had a gut feeling that he could trust this him more than he could trust most of the humans on Earth.

"If you tell me," Keela said.

Ares sat down once he got on board the shuttle. Keela sat down next to him.

"All right, truth is the Argo and her crew are not from Earth," Ares said.

"Human you are, yes," Keela asked.

"Yes, it's difficult but we came from a planet called Kobal," Ares said.

"Kobal, not heard of it," Keela said.

"An ancient planet, long since dead," Ares said. "Thirteen Tribes headed away from the planet as events on the planet made living there unbearable. Twelve Tribes landed close to each other the thirteen tribe came here."

"You are making contact with lost tribe," Keela asked.

"In a way, but we were looking for help in our war," Ares said.

"Against Arbus," Keela asked.

"Nope, against someone even stronger and deadlier," Ares said. "A machine race called the Cylons."

"Machine race," Keela said. "That would mean computer intelligence, not possible."

"Possible, and we're fighting them now. If we lose they will sweep though the galaxy eventually coming here and even engage the Arbus," Ares said.

"I see," Keela said as the shuttle landed. "Then much there is to do."

BSGBSG

Troy leaned back against the wall watching what was going on. Bri came up to him and leaned against him.

"Hey gorgeous," she said to him.

"So what have you been up to," he asked, taking in her slight smile that she usually had whenever she had done something to Nall.

"Nothing, much," she said, whispering the last word.

"Oh boy, what did Nall do this time," Troy said almost afraid to ask.

"Made a remark about my butt," she said. "He really should learn to walk without bumping into stuff."

"Oh I don't know," Troy said taking a look at said item. "I think it looks fine. What did he say about it."

"That it would make a fine handle," she said.

Troy chuckled at that. "Well," he said leaving the rest hanging.

"Keep it up and you won't be getting any," she said giving him a slight bump with her hips.

"I was only stating a truth," Troy said as he wrapped his arm around her. "Have you learned anything else," he asked her.

"Nothing else that is useful," she said.

"I know, what did they just say," Troy said turning his attention to the council floor.

"Is the council sure," Harvey asked from where he was sitting at his position.

"Yes mister president," the leader of the council said. "This latest incident indicates that the threat is going to remain. That and the fact that the Arbus have done such a thing before makes us determined to fight back now."

"Then we'll begin the construction of two new shipbuilding yard here at Earth with the purpose of constructing battlestars," the president said.

Troy looked at Ares who looked back at him. They were thinking the same thing. The fact that battlestars would be constructed would make it easier when the Cylons would be brought up.

BSGBSG

Troy left the council room after that with Bri right behind him. He was lost in his thoughts until he heard her say something.

"I can't believe that they are authorizing construction of a battlestar," she said.

"Maybe they've finally understood the danger that they are facing," Troy said. "The battle with the Arbus is not over by a long shot. We still have to defeat them before we can concentrate again on the Cylons."

"Yes, fortunately the fleet is holding their own. But did you hear that the Fifth fleet is going to be heading out to help out some allies," Bri said.

"Yeah, the Pegasus and Commander Cain," Troy said. "If anyone can stop those Cylons it will be him."

"Yeah," Bri said. "If he could he would do it himself."

"I think you're right," Troy said.

There was something else that was changing. He could feel it in the air. It felt to him like a good thing as well. He had a feeling that for the first time his visions of them sitting down at the table with the Arbus would be with the Arbus surrendering to them.

BSGBSG

"They just went and attacked you," Harvey asked Keela in front of the council.

"Yes, after what we thought was a friendly meeting with them. They were nice until they attacked us," Keela said. "Then everything turned."

"Was there anything that happened that might of started it," Harvey said. "Something that was brought up in some way."

"Nothing that is relevant," Keela said thinking about what had happened.

"I have found that sometimes the slightest thing could be what triggered it," Ares said from where he was sitting.

"Possible, I will have to think about it," Keela replied.

"Of course, you have been though a lot as well," Harvey said. "Let us adjourn for now and come back tomorrow morning and continue this discussion when we are better rested."

"Rested," Keela said.

"Yes, sleep," Harvey said.

"What is this 'sleep' that you talk about," Keela said.

"You don't have to rest now and then," Harvey asked.

"No," Keela said.

"Ah, here when it get dark, we rest, or sleep," Harvey said. "It is a way to revive ourselves."

"All right," Keela said still not sure that he understood. "How long does 'sleep' take?"

"Usually about eight hours, but we will reconvene in the morning at nine," Harvey said to the council. "That will allow us to eat as well."

"Eat I'm familiar with," Keela said as they walked out of the room.

BSGBSG

Nall walked in to see what Rebecca was doing. She was sitting down at the desk with her laptop busily typing away at it. He quietly walked up behind her and put his arms around her shoulder.

"Hey," he said into her ear causing her to jump a bit.

"Do you always have to try to scare me like that," Rebecca said as she turned to look at Nall.

"Yes," he said with a smile.

"How I ever fell in love with you I don't know," Rebecca said with a smile.

"Must be my charm," Nall said the grin never leaving his face.

"Must be," Rebecca replied. "So, where are you taking me tonight my warrior?"

"I thought that we might meet up with Troy and Bri down on the surface," Nall said.

"Sounds like a plan," Rebecca said. "I think we can swing that while the Argo is under repair. Where were you thinking?"

"Bri was stating something about some food called Chinese," Nall said.

"All right," Rebecca said as she got up from her chair.

"Good," Nall said.

BSGBSG

"So what do you think," Bri said as she and Troy arrived at the restaurant.

"I think yes," Troy said. "In fact I almost guarantee it."

"Really," Bri said raising an eyebrow at him. "I wonder about that."

"No doubts wife," Troy said to her giving her a hug. "Come on," he said noticing that Nall and Rebecca were walking their direction.

"Hey," Nall said. "Are they crowded tonight," he asked them.

"Not really," Troy said. "We can walk right in."

"All right," Nall replied as they led the two women into the building where they were seated at a nice table.

They ordered some wine which was actually quite something at the moment. Many of the wine-producing areas had been destroyed in the battle for Earth so the wine industry was still struggling to recover.

"A toast," Troy said after the wine had been delivered to them. "To friends, and family," he said looking at each of them.

They toasted and had a drink. Troy could see that Nall was nervous and gave a nudge to Bri who noticed it as well. Nall jumped a bit then looked over to Bri who just glared at him for a second.

"What did he do now," Rebecca said with a smile wondering what he had said or done. She would not blame Bri for anything that she did.

"Well, actually," Nall said a bit hesitantly as he fumbled a bit which was completely out of character for the man. "It's sort of like this," he said taking a breath then getting up. "I've read about your traditions and such and well," he said as he went to a knee pulling something out of his pocket. "Will you give me the honor of joining with me," he said holding out a small box inside which was a wedding ring.

Rebecca sat there stunned for several seconds not able to speak let along breath as she realized what Nall was saying. Her brain finally caught up with the emotions of Nalls face which for this brief instance was wide open allowing her to see all of the man which she had grown to know and love.

"Yes," she finally said causing Bri and Troy to give a yell of excitement and Nall a wide open grin of happiness as if he just found the best treasure in the universe. Of course to him he had just found that.

The rest of the meal went quickly as several people came over to offer their congratulations to the newly engaged couple. Nall was walking on could nine for the rest of the night knowing that he had a future that could include a family? He was sure that there was still a lot to do in the coming years but for now, he was happy.

BSGBSG

Ares was standing the next morning once again in the council chambers while listening to the council talk to the Skartian. The two of them had talked for a while over a meal where he learned a lot about the alien's history. He still was trying to understand the reasons for the Arbus actions for going to war. Were they trying to conquer the galaxy, or was it religious or something else. If they could figure that out then many things might start to make sense.

He listened in again as Keela was again questioned about what had happened with the Arbus. It seemed like they were trying to figure out the same thing that Ares was. But he had the feeling that Keela did not know the answer to that question.

"What do you think Commander," Pakrov said as he approached him.

"I think we're not going to get any more information from the Skartians about why the Arbus are acting like they are," Ares said.

"That's what I thought as well," Pakrov said. "But you know council members, they don't know when to leave a dead horse alone."

"Dead horse," Ares asked not familiar with the phrase.

"A phrase meaning they don't know when to stop their questioning because they are not going to get any more information," Pakrov said. "They will probably find at least another ten ways to phrase the same question, almost as bad as the media used to be."

"Ugh," Ares said. "That would never have worked back in the Colonies."

"No," Pakrov asked.

"Nope," Ares said. "We've been at war with the Cylons for so long that we no longer know anything else. The only way I can see the war ending is with one side or the other winning."

"That bad," Pakrov asked.

"No, we're up against an enemy that won't surrender, retreat, or change its fundamental views," Ares said. "Only one will win, unfortunately it's that simple."

"Not like this one," Pakrov said.

"Nope," Ares said.

BSGBSG

Keela was glad that the questioning was over. Some of the senators seemed like they could talk all day just to listen to the sound of their own voice. He saw that the President was walking towards him and wondered what was up this time.

"Keela, sorry about subjecting you to all that," Harvey said to the alien.

"You people love to talk," Keela said.

"Some of us, yes," Harvey replied. "I had hoped that the recent war and everything that happened might cause things to operate differently now, I was wrong."

"You people have always been that way," Keela asked.

"In a way, but it seems to get worse each passing year. Everyone thinks that they are right, and heaven forbid if someone is wrong," Harvey said with a smile. "I sometimes think that in order to become part of the government there is a requirement that you cannot admit that you were wrong about anything."

"Interesting concept, would not work in our government," Keela said.

"Didn't think so," Harvey said. "Though many will expect your government to operate the same way because it's how ours operates."

"Again, strange concept," Keela said. "We operate on council, but if anyone is purposefully lying they are removed, no exceptions. So truth is very important."

Harvey was about to say something else when the sound of thunder echoed though the building causing Keela to jump a bit. Harvey glanced at the alien for a second wondering what was going on.

"You are under attack, yes," Keela said, as another rumbled echoed though the building. He was confused by the strange calm look on Harvey's face.

"That," Harvey said as another rumbled came though. "That is thunder, caused by the storm that is on its way here. A natural occurrence on our planet. Basically electricity is present in the air and is shot down from the atmosphere to the ground. This is lightning. Because it goes faster than the speed of sound a sonic boom is created which is the thunder that you're hearing right now."

"This does not frighten you," Keela asked.

"No, not really, we have a healthy respect for it but do not fear it," Harvey said.

"Interesting," Keela said. There was much to learn about this world and its people.

BSGBSG

Ares walked to his office on Earth's surface. He preferred the one on board the Argo over this one. He had not been sitting down for very long when there was a knock on the door. He told them to come in and Troy, Bri, Nall and Rebecca walked into the office.

"Hey, what can I do for you today," Ares said glad to see some friendly faces for a change.

"We were just wanted to let you know about some exciting news," Bri said.

"We're engaged," Rebecca said wrapping her arms around Nall.

"Well, that is good news," Ares said, finding himself smiling at the news. "So do have you have any date set up yet?"

"Nope, not yet, have to think about that," Nall said. "We just thought that you would like to know about it."

"It is an exciting event that is for sure," Ares said. "I'm glad that something good is happening today."

"What's going on," Troy asked.

"The council, they're talking with our Skartian guest, Keela. It seems that the members of the council like to hear themselves talk a bit too much," Ares said. "I think I fell asleep there a few times."

"That would not surprise me," Nall said. "I know that I would."

"Yeah, but then you miss important things," Ares said with a sigh. "You know, sometimes I miss just being in charge of a battlestar. It's a lot less stressful than this."

"But you're so good at it," Nall said with a smile.

"Keep that up and I'll make you my official ambassador to the council," Ares said with a smirk.

"You've been taking lessons from Bri," Nall said.

"Nah, just seen the two of you interact too much, that's all," Ares replied. "I wouldn't do that to a friend anyways, much too cruel. Anyways, congratulations."

"Thank commander," Nall said.

"You will have to let me know when you have a set date," Ares said.

"We will," Nall said as he and Rebecca left the room. Bri left with them as they went to tell others about what happened.

"So, what's really going on," Troy asked sitting down across from Ares.

"Ah, just the normal," Ares said rubbing his hand over his face. "What about you and Bri," Ares asked.

"Doing fine," Troy said with a smile. "We were worried about the Argo for a while."

"Yeah, fortunately Renee noticed the course of the Arbus ships otherwise it might have been ugly," Ares said. "We could really use more ships."

"Well, they are under construction. I've heard that they are going to construct another battlestar," Troy said.

"Yep, construction on the shipyard is already underway," Ares said.

"Good," Troy said.

BSGBSG

Jax sat in the rec room watching the Earth pass by the window. She thought that the planet was pretty and that had been confirmed by her visits to the planet's surface. The rec room seemed different now that others were there. She was sure that others looked at her as some sort of veteran to look up to. She had even found a few imitating what she did and how she acted. It was strange she thought. She was almost glad with relief when she spotted Nall, Rebecca and Bri come walking into the room.

"Hey Jax," Nall said with a smile on his face as the three of them sat down with her.

"Would you believe that I'm actually glad to see you three," Jax said looking at her friends.

"Feeling lonely," Bri asked.

"Yeah, it's strange," Jax said. "It's like the first time I was on board a battlestar."

"Really," Bri asked. "I wasn't on another battlestar before being taking this assignment."

"Be glad," Jax said. "On a battlestar ranks appear between the pilots that have nothing to do with actual ranks."

"That doesn't make much sense," Rebecca replied.

"The rank is how long you've been aboard the ship. The longer you been on the less friends you have," Jax replied. "The newbies have only themselves as friends. The reason for that is the veterans don't want to make friends for someone who might be Cylon fodder next mission. The longer you last the better chance you have of making it into the veteran group."

"Then you're gaining friends," Rebecca said.

"Yes, but you also lose those friends. Those friends you gain are the only ones. As losses take their toll it whittles down the group until only a few remain. They usually doing make any more friends with other pilots," Jax said.

"How do you know all of this," Nall asked.

"I made a mistake of trying to talk to one of them on the battlestar Atlantia," Jax said. "He was one of those who had been around a long time. He told me why many people did not talk to me. The only way to gain friends was to survive. You first gain pilot friends, then you gain shipmate friends."

"Then it's a good thing I volunteered for this mission," Bri said. "I might not have found Troy."

"Or at least he probably would not have talked to you," Jax said. "I jumped at this mission for that reason. There would be no groups yet. So what brings you here?"

"Well, actually good news," Nall said.

"Really," Jax asked.

"Yep, we're engaged," Rebecca said holding Nall's hand.

"Really, who asked who," Jax asked with a smile.

"I asked her," Nall said watching as a shocked expression came over Jax's face.

"I didn't think you had the guts for commitment," Jax said with a smile.

"I guess if you find the right person," Nall said.

"I guess so," Jax said. She was happy for him. Everyone could see how happy they were together and figured that it was only a matter of time before Rebecca asked him. She would be proud to gloat that she won the secret bet of who and when they would get engaged.

"You're taking this better than I thought," Nall said looking at Jax.

"She's just happy for you, and the side pool," Bri said stating the last part in a whisper.

"What, did you say side pool," he asked confused.

"Ah, they were wondering when you were going to ask, or is Rebecca would instead," Bri replied. "Jax and I were the only one to bet on you. She just beat me to this month," Bri said looking at Jax.

"I should have known," Nall said. "After all they bet about everything else around here."

"Yep, even someone's love life," Jax said with a grin.

BSGBSG

Bri made her way back to her quarters hoping that Troy would be back already. Whatever he had been talking with the commander about took a while. Nall had been congratulated by the remaining pilots from the Colonies that were still aboard the Argo. She had told the group that she would see them later to return to her quarters. She and Troy had wanted to spend a quiet moment alone back at their quarters.

"Hello beautiful," a voice said from behind her causing her to turn. She saw that Troy was walking down the hallway. "Are you busy?"

"Well, if you must know I'm meeting with my husband real soon," she said to him.

"Really, anyone I know," Troy asked.

"Well if you must know yes, and he gets real jealous as well," Bri said with a smile.

"Well, I can be quick if you want," Troy said returning the smile.

"And if I don't want quick," she replied.

"Hmm, then I might have to meet this husband of yours," Troy said. "That could prove to be unpleasant."

"Come on, take me to bed," Bri said as they walked through the door letting it shut behind them.

BSGBSG

Ares sat at his desk wondering about everything that he had heard today. The Skartians were friendly enough and he did not sense any hostility from them. So what was it that was keeping him awake? He thought that the Skartians were at about the same technology that the people of Earth was. He realized that it was that thought that caused him problems.

The people of Earth, or the thirteenth tribe, should be more advanced than they were. It was almost as if something was going on in this sector of space. Then there was the fact that the Arbus did not seem much more advanced than anyone else was either. He had a strong feeling that everything was connected in a way that he could not see.

Rubbing his eyes he glanced over at the clock. It was later than he thought which would explain why he was hungry. Getting up out of his chair he walked out of his office. He would grab something to eat then perhaps he would talk with General Pakrov and see if the man had any ideas. He also wondered if Doctor Weaver had found out anything from the wreckage that had been gathered from the destroyed Arbus ships.

The other thing that bothered him was how long would this war go on. The Skartians had also not seen an attack come. The difference between the two, was the Skartians welcomed them in first. On Earth it appeared that the Arbus had been called 'grays' even before they knew about them. They abducted people on the planet. Ares figured that that was for cloning purposes. With a shake of his head he put those thoughts out of him mind as he walked into the cafeteria to get some food.

End of Time

Continue in Marriage Ceremony


	41. Chapter 41: Marriage Ceremony

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Marriage Ceremony**

Troy walked down the hallway. So far there had not been much lately in the war against the Arbus. It seemed like they were waiting, or rebuilding their forces. Everyone knew that it was only a matter of time before they returned. Troy knew for a fact that they had not heard the last of the Arbus. There was still much to learn about their attackers. That and the vision of the future he had, still have not come to pass.

Sometime in the future the Arbus and the humans would sit down to talk. He had a feeling that it would be for peace talks between the two sides. He had to wonder how long this battle was going to go on for and how many others they were going to lose as a result of the war. It was a bit of a sobering thought as he sat there. He might even lose people that he was friends with. They had lost Martin early in the voyage to Earth and now others would lose their lives fighting another enemy that they did not know.

He turned the corner and saw Rebecca and Nall standing there. He knew that their wedding was coming up real soon.

"Hey Troy," Nall said.

"Hello," Troy said. "What is going on? I didn't interrupt anything did I?"

"No, we were just talking," Rebecca said.

"Ah, then you heard about the latest attack by the Arbus," Troy said.

"What, they attacked recently," Nall asked, wondering why he had missed that piece of information.

"No, just checking to see if you were paying attention," Troy said with a smile.

"Where's Bri," Nall asked.

"She's flying patrol at the moment," Troy replied.

"I thought you were her wingmate," Rebecca said, wondering what was going on.

"She is, but Charlie was feeling sick so she took his spot," Troy said.

"Oh, that makes sense," Rebecca said. "I've been given some time off."

"I'm just hoping that the Arbus stay away a bit longer for me to enjoy my wedding," Nall said.

"Well, one piece of good news is that the new battlestar has just been started," Troy said.

"I heard about that," Nall said. "It's about time."

"The two destroyers were finally completed," Troy said, thinking that the fleet now consisted of one battlestar, one cruiser, and now three destroyers. "Any idea as to where you're going for your honeymoon?"

"I'm leaving that to Nall," Rebecca replied.

"I've got it all figure out already," Nall said.

"All right, I better get on up to the commander's office then," Troy said.

"Wanted to talk to you did he," Nall asked.

"Yeah, they are starting to work on the ship that will head back to the colonies," Troy said.

"Are you going back," Nall asked.

"Probably not, there is much work to do here still," Troy said.

"Yeah, I was just wondering. After all you still have family back there," Nall said.

"True, but I think they would understand," Troy said then continued on his way down the hallway to the commander's office.

BSGBSG

Gunther stood on the bridge of the Fire Ant. The latest destroyer to be completed. She did not have the S-metal that the other ships had but she had better armor than the Sprint had. His ship was on patrol around Earth. The Sprint was sent to Centari One to help out the Tiger while the other destroyer, renamed Pincher was at the refueling base to protect that one.

The fleet was definitely shaping up that much was for sure. Centari One was constructing the fuel tanker while Earth was constructing the next battlestar. That left an open dockyard on Centari One which rumor was would be starting the ship that would head back to the Colonies.

"Hermes inbound captain," his second in command said.

"Thanks Eric," Gunther said. "Looks like they are right on time."

"Yes sir," Eric replied. He was new to the fleet but already Gunther could tell that the man was going to be fiercely loyal. He had lost his wife and two children in the Arbus attack and was one of the first to strike back when the Argo arrived to help free Earth.

"All right, you have the bridge Eric," Gunther said going to retire for the day. It was the end of his shift and he was tired for a change.

"I'll let you know if anything happens," Eric said. "Though it has been quiet for a while now."

"All the more reason to keep a close eye out," Gunther said.

"Right," Eric said as Gunther walked off the bridge.

BSGBSG

Bri and Troy was sitting around with the other warriors helping him celebrate his upcoming wedding tomorrow. They were all relaxing as their friends that could come were in the room. Most were people from the colonies that had started out on the mission almost three yehrens ago. They had lost many over the years but had gain new friends and new allies in the journey.

"Well, how's it feel to know that tomorrow you will be married," Bri said to Nall.

"Strange," Nall said knowing that he was taking a large step in his life.

"Well at least you found a woman that can keep you restrained," Troy said with a smile.

"Well it does feel different with her," Nall said, not sure how to explain it.

"I just wish that Martin could be here," Bri said.

"Me too," Nall said, thinking about their friend who had started the mission with them. They had accepted that Martin had landed on a planet and that he still had a mission to undertake.

"I wonder what he would make of you getting married," Troy said.

"He would probably ask to how many," Bri said with a sad smile.

"And then he would ask if Bri was one of them," Nall said.

"I'm a happily sealed woman now," Bri said giving him a look.

"Yeah, not that that has stopped him," Troy said.

"Hey what about it, one final fling before I'm a married man," Nall said waggling his eyebrows at Bri.

"Do you want to walk down that isle tomorrow," Bri asked him watching as Nall's eyes widened.

"You wouldn't," Nall said watching Bri's face. "You would."

Troy just sat there laughing at his friend. This was going to be an interesting wedding that was for sure.

BSGBSG

Troy was lying next to Bri in bed as they were just being lazy until they had to get up. Today was the big day for Nall and Rebecca. It was going to be both a happy and sad day as well. Rebecca had lost her parents in the first Arbus attack. She had asked Robert to walk her down the aisle. This would also be the first time that they had seen an earth wedding as well.

"So, do you think he's awake," Troy asked Bri.

"Knowing Nall, he's probably been awake all night," Bri said with a smile.

"Remember our wedding," Troy said. "Rebecca was not too happy with you that day."

"Oh yeah, it wasn't until she realized that I was marrying you that she was happy," Bri replied.

"According to Jax Rebecca was downright unhappy with you," Troy said.

"It's a good thing that Jax realized what was going on," Bri said, as their alarm went off again. Troy's hand slapped the top of the alarm silencing it again.

"We really should get up," Troy said.

"But I'm comfortable right here," Bri said with a pout.

"Come on," Troy said, finding a ticklish spot on his wife's skin causing her to squeal and jump a bit.

"Ohh, you cheat," Bri said, grabbing at the hands that were trying to get to her.

"Well, with you in the morning I have to do something to get you up," Troy said.

"All right, I'm getting up," Bri said hopping out of the bed as an amused Troy looked on. "But if I have to get up then so do you," she said watching as he stretched in bed.

"Yep, but you are one who likes to lie in bed all day," Troy said finally getting up. "But we've got a wedding to go to."

BSGBSG

Nall stood nervously off to one side waiting for the wedding to begin. There was a lot that had gone on to prepare for this day and now that it was here he was hoping that Rebecca was not having any second thoughts. He noticed when Troy came in and walked straight up to him.

"Hey, nervous," Troy said with a bit of a smile on his face.

"Yeah," Nall replied with a bit of a smile. "I guess this is a bit of a big step for me."

"Well, it does mean commitment," Troy said.

"Yeah, where's Bri," Nall asked.

"She's on her way. She wanted to stop by and see how Rebecca was doing," Troy said. "You know that this is a bit different, having Bri as your best man."

"I know, but she is the closest thing to family that I have," Nall said.

"I know and she was very happy to participate," Troy said looking up as Bri came walking towards them. "Well, I should get to my seat then."

Troy gave Bri a slight kiss before heading to a seat in the front row. Bri walked up to where Nall was standing.

"I see you're still standing," Bri said.

"At the moment, yes," Nall replied.

They both turned when they heard the music to begin the ceremony. Nall found himself standing there watching as the bridesmaid came first followed by Rebecca. She was dressed in white and looked even lovelier to him.

"Hey, breathe," Bri whispered to him. Nall blinked a bit and realized that he had forgotten to breathe for a moment while he was watching her. He watched as she came up to him and the priest began the ceremony.

He felt Rebecca take his hand as he looked into her blue eyes. He felt that he was doing the best thing in his life. The only sad thought was he had wished that Martin was here. Several moments later, or at least to Nall, and the ceremony was over. He kissed his new wife as they walked back down the aisle.

BSGBSG

Troy and Bri sat off to the side resting as the wedding celebration continued on though the night. They had already danced quite a bit and were not watching others dance. Troy wondered where they were going to go for their honeymoon. He had heard Nall say something about Hawaii, a few of the islands in what was the Caribbean Sea, a town called Venice, or a couple of other places that he was not too familiar with.

"So when do you think that they are going to be leaving," Bri asked Troy.

"Hmm," Troy replied looking at the newlywed couple. "Seeing how Nall looks I would think that they are seriously thinking about it."

A chiming caught their attention once again as Nall and Rebecca were standing in the front of the room. Troy figured that it would be the announcement that he and Bri were just talking about.

"Now that I have everyone's attention I would like to thank you all for coming. Rebecca and I appreciate everyone for coming to help celebrate this with us. Now I hear that it is customary to take the bride to bed on the first night. So without further ado I think I will," Nall said turning to Rebecca then surprising her by picking her up and then carrying her out of the room.

Bri and Troy just looked at each other with smiles on their face. It was just like Nall to do something like that. They noticed while Rebecca squealed a bit when being picked up she went along with it even though she was blushing a bit.

"Oh, everyone is welcome to stay and party, but there is a private party waiting for me and Rebecca in our room. Hope you don't mine, and everyone enjoy yourselves tonight," Nall said from the door way before continuing out of the room.

"Well, that was typical Nall," Bri said. "Glad you didn't do anything like that."

"I like not having bruises on my body," Troy replied. "That and I didn't want to spend our first night sleeping on the couch either."

"I knew I joined with a smart man," Bri said. "Come on, let's get our own private party started."

"I like the way you think," Troy said.

BSGBSG

Ares watched from where he was sitting at a table along with Robert and Sam. So far things had gone well all around. He knew that it would not last forever and decided to have a good night himself.

"They make a lovely couple," Robert said at last.

"I can't believe that she tamed Nall," Ares said with a chuckle.

"Well, he definitely is better than her last boyfriend," Robert said. "Though I will admit when I first meet him I thought he was crazy."

"I can imagine," Ares said.

"That reminds me, when are we going to tell everyone about where the Argo and her crew are really from," Sam asked.

"Well, there is still the war with the Arbus, I don't think bringing up the Cylons will help out in any way," Ares said.

"Yes, but there are rumors and all sorts of theories going on," Robert said having heard a few himself. He had even been asked but had given no comment.

"Perhaps the best time is when the war with the Arbus doesn't look so bleak," Ares said. "We're still outnumbered by their forces, or at least I assume so."

"I would agree with that, but the next battlestar has been laid down finally," Sam said.

"Yes, that will help out a lot," Ares said knowing that it would in more ways than one.

"What is the timeline of its completion," Robert asked.

"Well, its not being built with the s-metal so it will be constructed faster," Sam said. "Workers are working on it twenty-four/seven to rush it into service. There is also another team working on a new design as well."

"That's good news," Ares said. The battlestar was in need of an upgrade and he was curious as to what the new design would be. "The designers must also know about the Cylons and their capabilities as well."

"Yes, they have been told. As a result they know not to integrate the systems. Many will wonder about that but it will make sense for later on," Sam said.

"Well, it was a great evening, but I must be up early tomorrow," Ares said getting up and stretching.

"Me too," the council wants to talk with me again," Sam said rolling his eyes.

The three men got up and walked out of the room wondering what tomorrow would hold.

BSGBSG

Troy was lying in his bed next to Bri who was asleep. The night had been wonderful that was for sure. They had watched Nall get married to Rebecca. Troy wondered back to a vision he had early on in this mission. He could see Nall along with Rebecca but there was also a child. Troy wondered when that child would come.

He also wondered about the reason why Nall would give both his wife, and Troy assumed Nall's child a kiss before walking off. Something had happened that much was for sure. Troy wondered if it had anything to do with the current war against the Arbus.

He was just about to drift off when the room changed around him. He recognized it for what it was. He waited to see what would appear before him this time and he was not disappointed.

The bridge of a battlestar appeared in front of him. There was smoke from an unknown fire someone nearby. He glanced around to see if he could spot anyone that he recognized but was not able too.

"Status report," a male said.

"It worked," another person said.

Troy was wondering what was going on when he suddenly saw Commander Cain. Then the vision was gone. Troy shook his head at that and wondered what the meaning of that was. The Pegasus would be involved in a heavy fight and survive, but when, or was it the battle that the fleet would be destroyed in that he had seen.

Now he was confused about this vision. His restlessness woke Bri up as she felt the turmoil going on in Troy.

"What's wrong," she asked a bit sleepily.

"Another vision," Troy said.

"What happened this time," Bri said, traces of sleep suddenly gone.

"I saw Commander Cain, and I assume the Pegasus surviving a battle," Troy said.

"So what's the problem," Bri asked.

"I've also seen the fleet destroyed, or at least most of it. I thought that the Galactica is the battlestar to survive," Troy said.

"And now you're not sure," Bri said.

"Right," Troy said.

"What if Cain is the commander of the Galactica," Bri said.

"No, Adama is the commander of the Galactica. Cain likes the Pegasus too much to change command," Troy said.

"Then perhaps the Pegasus also survives the battle," Bri said.

"Maybe, I guess we won't know for a while," Bri said.

"Maybe we can get word back to Commander Cain when the scout ship is completed," Troy said.

"When is that due to be completed," Bri asked.

"Beginning of next year," Troy replied.

"Good," Bri said. "I take it then that the mission back will be a secret one as well?"

"Yep," Troy said. "We're being asked to still to keep the Cylons a secret for now."

Bri nodded her head as a yawn escaped her lips. "You know, next time you have a vision, do it when I'm more awake."

"I'll try but it's not like I have that much control over it," Troy replied.

"We'll have to work on that then," Bri said as she snuggled back into her spot and drifted back off to sleep.

BSGBSG

Keela watched from the overhang of the porch as water fell from the sky. There was a brilliant electrical show going on as well. In a way it was terrifying yet beautiful at the same time. It was unlike anything he had seen on his home planet. That thought caused a bit of sadness in his facial expression.

"Anything I can help with," Ares said, walking up to the Skartian that was standing there.

"Nothing that you can do yet commander," Keela replied.

"Maybe, what is it," Ares asked prodding a bit more.

"My world, I miss it," Keela said.

"I know what you mean," Ares said quietly causing the Skartian to look at him with a strange expression.

"I don't understand, you are home," Keela said.

"It would take too long to explain," Ares said. "How are your people cooping?"

"As well as expected," Keela said.

"Well, if you have any concerns be sure to talk to the president about it," Ares said.

"He does seem to be quite capable," Keela said. "Yet at the same time I also wonder if you do trust us."

"To be honest, there is still some concern about where your loyalties are," Ares said continuing quickly before Keela could say anything. "We know that the Arbus clone people, and there is no way to understand if you are part of an Arbus plan or not. You could be clones sent here to infiltrate us after all we have managed to keep them from invading our planet several times so they might be trying something new."

"What you say is reasonable, I will keep that in mind," Keela said. "But I do feel that there is more going on then just the Arbus here."

"I get that feeling as well," Ares said getting a startled look from Keela.

Keela was feeling more confused by these humans every time he talked to them. He also wondered what Ares meant by some of the things that he said. He said that he understood what Keela had meant when he was talking about his homeworld. But was Earth not his home? He watched as Ares walked away to head to his office here on the planet. He would have time to figure out what Ares had meant.

BSGBSG

Troy stretched as the morning came. He was sure that Nall and Rebecca would still be asleep as their flight did not take off until this afternoon. Bri was still sleeping and he did not really want to bother her just yet. His mind wondered back to the vision that he had.

The vision was a bit strange as he had heard voices. Usually his visions did not include a voice or any type. This time he heard sounds and wondered if that meant anything. He also wondered if he was analyzing it too much. He did have a habit of doing that a bit with some visions.

"Thought you were going to sleep in today," Bri's voice said breaking him out of his thoughts.

"Nah, old habits are hard to break," Troy said.

"Old," Bri said raising an eyebrow.

"All right, a habit is hard to break," Troy said. "We have to be back on board the Argo by mid afternoon."

Bri sighed. "I know," she said wishing that they could spend a bit more time down here on Earth. "Ugh," she said as she could hear the beginnings of a rainstorm. "Hope that clears up before we have to leave."

"I did bring the umbrella this time," Troy said to her.

"Good," Bri said. "Knew there was a reason why I kept you around."

"Gee and here I thought it was my charming personality," Troy said with a smile.

"You're just full of it today," Bri said glaring at Troy.

"Yep, someone has to as I know that you will be missing Nall for the next couple of days," Troy said still smiling.

"Haha," Bri said. "Like some of the earthers say, you're a regular comedian."

Troy looked at her then realized that they needed to start heading back up to the Argo. The first complete squadron of new vipers was finally complete. They were supposed to be completed almost a year ago but the Arbus invasion and other problems delayed the project. They finally had a couple of factories that could produce the new viper.

The two of them finally got dressed even though it had started to rain. Using the umbrella Troy led Bri to the waiting car that would take them to the shuttle.

BSGBSG

Colonel David Hamm stood on the bridge of the Argo currently the commander of the ship. It was a bit of a daunting position but one that he was used to. He had recently been promoted to the level of Colonel when the previous colonel had left to take command of the destroyer Puma.

"Colonel," one of the operators said.

"Yes," David replied turning to look at the officer.

"We have just received the last of the new vipers," she said to him.

"Good, I'll let Commander Ares know. Is Lieutenant Gabrielle and Captain Troy back on board yet," David asked watching as the woman turned to see if her screen showed that or not.

"No colonel, their shuttle has just left the planet's surface," she said to him.

"All right, let me know when they arrive," David said then turned to head to the command chair. He really wanted to let the commander know but taking a look at his watch he realized that the commander would be in with the council of Earth. He would have to wait until it was noon there to try and speak with him.

"Were the Viper Vs put in alpha bay," David asked wanting to make sure that everything was being done like they wanted.

"Yes sir, just waiting for the test ride by the pilots," the reply came.

"Excellent," David said sitting down in the chair. So far today was turning out to be a nice day. He only hoped that it continued for a while longer.

"Sir, Captain Troy and Lieutenant Gabrielle have landed and are on their way to the pilot's briefing room," the officer said.

"Now we'll find out if the new vipers are better than the old ones or not," David said. He knew that the new vipers had more powerful engines, better turning radius for dog fighting. The weapons were also improved adding missile and bomb bays to the fighter to make it a better overall fighter as well. Today they were going to be having Gold squad face off against Green squad in the advanced fighters in a mock battle. It would give everyone an example of how efficient the new design was.

End of Marriage Ceremony

Continued in The Battle Continues


	42. Chapter 42: The Battle Continues

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**The Battle Continues**

Troy waited for the announcement to head to their fighters. He glanced over at his friends and wife. Nall was pestering Bri which was normal and Rebecca was on the bridge of the battlestar as they were headed into combat. There had been a few skirmishes in the past six months but no large scale attacks. This one was proving to be a bit different. The Fire Ant had been on patrol and spotted a large number of ships headed towards Earth.

Troy thought about the fact that the fleet was now larger than it had been last time the Arbus had attacked. They had added another three destroyers of the Fire Ant class and several scout ships, he had lost count at ten so far. They were easy to build without much problems. They were also working on the next battlestar. It was identical to the Argo but the next ship would be of an improved design. Then there was the Tiger's sister ship approaching completion near Centari One. The name was going to be the Panther.

He knew that several members of his squadron had left for other ships and better commands. Gunther was commanding the Fire Ant, at least until the Colonial Bound was completed. She was an advanced scout ship that would head back to the Colonies.

The war with the Cylons back at the colonies had not changed at all. They were still fighting the Cylons and nothing new had been reported. The last news had been that a Cylon basestar had been destroyed in a fleet action with damage to the Pegasus that would require some time to repair. The Galactica was patrolling the system while other battlestars were making sure that the surrounding area was secure.

The pilot's room was suddenly bathed in red as the klaxons began their wailing.

"All right everyone, let's go," Troy said grabbing his helmet and heading along with the others to the transport that would take them to the hangers.

"You be careful," he heard Bri say as she stepped up next to him.

"You too," Troy said as they arrived at the launching bay. They quickly climbed into the black fighters that were the Viper Vs.

"You're all armed, you have six stingers and one big boy," the crewman said.

"Thanks," Troy said as he reviewed what armament had been placed on board the viper. He had six Stinger II missiles which were highly accurate for anti fighter defense and the big boy was an affectionate name for the Mark XIV bomb that was an anti-capital ship weapon.

Troy climbed into the viper and put him helmet on. He could hear Rebecca giving orders to the viper pilots and where they were to go once they had launched.

He punched down the launch button as he received permission to launch.

BSGBSG

Commander Ares stood on the bridge of the Argo as the battlestar approached the incoming Arbus fleet. They had one battlestar, one cruiser, three destroyers and four scout ships. It was the largest fleet that he had commanded. One destroyer and three scout ships were not coated with the S-metal so he was sure that the Arbus knew that they were approaching.

The problem was the destroyer and scout ships were not where the main fleet was. He was hoping to catch the Arbus looking the wrong direction. Gunther was commanding what was being called the decoy force. So far it was looking like they had succeeded in that goal. The Arbus fleet heading towards the decoy fleet.

There was twelve Arbus ships of varying size and shapes. They identified one battleship class, four attack class, four escorts, or scout class, and three transport ships. It was clearly an invasion force that was heading to Earth. Ares had contacted President Sam Harvey about what was going on. Sam sounded a bit nervous about so many ships of the fleet being out at one time. Ares had to admit that it worried him as well. But if the fleet survived mostly intact then they would have a stronger fleet later on.

"Commander, we are approaching weapons range," Rebecca said to him.

"Stand by all weapons," Ares said as he watched the range slowly close down. It would not be much longer before they were really ready to open fire. He wanted to make sure that their fleet had not been detected yet.

"Arbus weapon systems are going active, they are coming within range of fleet two," Rebecca said. "Vipers have been launched from fleet two, awaiting orders to launch our vipers."

"All batteries open fire," Ares said. "Launch all vipers."

The Argo's viper's launched out of the launch tubes and raced into battle. The main weapons of the Argo along with the Tiger opened fire on the Argus ships. The destroyers flanked each of the larger ships providing even greater anti-fighter protection than what they could give themselves. The Puma was alongside the Argo peppering the Arbus fighters with its attacks.

It was the first large fleet action since the beginning of the war with the Arbus and the first large scale action for Ares since he had been back at the colonies. It was strange to be in such a position but he would have to do his best. Few knew what exactly was at stake in this war.

BSGBSG

Bri hit her reverse thrusters quickly as she went behind an enemy fighter. The enemy found himself in a bad position and quickly tried to turn his fighter but Bri was already pressing on the fire button as red lasers went streaking towards the fighter. Her shot was a direct hit causing the fighter to explode as she turned to find another target.

"Nice shot," Troy said having seen the kill. He wondered if Bri knew just how good she was becoming. He was sure that if they were back in the Colonies she would be quickly ranked among the best pilots in the fleet.

"Thanks," Bri said as she joined back up with him again. They then heard a call for help. It seemed that one of the pilots had gotten in trouble.

"Hang on," Troy said, as the two of them turned to help out the distressed pilot.

"I can't shake him," the female voice said.

"Turn right with a twenty percent grade dive," Bri said quickly, as she was lining up a shot. The viper made the turn causing the Arbus fighter to cross Bri's sights. She fired a few times causing the fighter to explode.

"Thanks," the pilot said.

"No problem, where's your wingmate" Bri said.

"Killed by the bastard you just got," the reply came.

"Then you can be mine," Jax said coming over. "I just lost mine. Do you think you can keep up Sara?"

"Just try and lose me," Sara replied.

"Let's go," Jax said as the four went back into the fray.

BSGBSG

"Enemy ships engaged," Gunther's second in command said. The Fire Ant had yet to join the fight. The ship was one of the ships that did not have the S-metal on it, but had better armor than the other ships.

"Bring us in on this approach vector," Gunther said to the helmsman. He nodded his head and turned the ship as ordered.

"Weapon systems ready to go," the second in command said.

"Then all system open fire," Gunther said.

The Fire Ant opened fire at the enemy fighters that were approaching them and one Arbus scout ship that was nearby. When the Argo and the other ships had opened fire the Arbus fleet had turned their attention to the larger targets and forgotten about them. That was just fine with Gunther as it allowed his ship to fire unheeded at whatever targets were needed.

"Sir, Commander Ares has just ordered Gold squad to begin their attack run," Gunther was told. He nodded his head. Gold and Green squadrons were so far the only squadrons fully equipped with the new Viper V. In a strange way this battle was a test for the new weapon systems and platforms. The Fire Ant class destroyer and the new Ram class scout were both in this battle. It was a test to see how well they fared.

"Good, hopefully the new 'big boy' will do some damage to their ships," Gunther said.

"We can only wait and see," the reply came.

BSGBSG

"Jax, your squad has received word to go ahead with their run," Troy said as he watched as Bri destroyed another Arbus fighter.

"All right, Gold squad form up," Jax said knowing that this was a bit different from what she had been trained for. She had taken over Gold squad when Gunther had left for the Fire Ant.

"Green squad will provide cover protection," Troy said to his group. "Let's keep the enemy off their backs."

Green squad raced ahead going after any enemy fighters that were in the area. Troy stuck with Bri being her wingman. They had discovered a while back that if he was her wingman he could concentrate a bit more on what was going on. He looked out for enemy fighters but in doing so he also could see what else was going on without concentrating just on one fighter.

"Scratch another one," Bri said as green squad broke off to let Gold squad to attack the Arbus ships.

Jax lined up one of the smaller ships in her sights. Other members of her team were attacking the larger ships. She and Sara were attacking this scout ship. She looked down to see that the weapon was armed and active. She was not within firing range but she waited just a bit longer. Laser fire was zipping by her at a rapid pace as she concentrated on the attack. She finally pressed on the firing button and watched as the large missile left her viper and headed to the enemy ship. Next to her Sara's missile also was heading to the enemy ship.

Jax did not wait to see if the missile hit or not as she turned her fighter away from the enemy ship and hit her turbos. Sara was just behind her doing the same thing.

Troy was able to see what happened. The two missiles struck the scout ship in different areas. The smaller ship did not have the armor that the larger ships had and the explosions caused massive damage to the ship. Troy could see secondary explosions beginning that began to rip the ship apart.

BSGBSG

"Two scout ships destroyed, the battleship appears to have suffered damage from the attacks," Rebecca said from where she was sitting to Commander Ares.

"Good, tell green squadron to begin their run next," Ares said. The anti-ship missile seemed to be a success for now. The Argo had not suffered much damage but he was not sure about the rest of the fleet. It was a large engagement and he was sure that they would lose ships, the question was how many.

"Sir, the Conqueror is reporting heavy damage," David said from where he was sitting.

Ares turned to see the reports. The Conqueror was a Fire Ant class destroyer made with S-metal. He watched as the damage was too much and the ship exploded.

"Conqueror destroyed," David said. "Green squad completing run. Another scout ship destroyed, two attack ships suffering heavy damage. Tiger is continuing to attack the battleship."

"Take us in, target the attack ships," Ares said.

"Yes sir," David said.

The Argo's main weapons switched from the battleship to the attack class that was protecting the battleship. So far loses were in favor of the human fleet. The Arbus had lost three of their scout ships, and an attack class ship.

"Commander, the Arbus fleet is turning around," Rebecca said, as she watched on the monitor.

Before Ares could say anything else Pratt's face came up on the communicator.

"Commander, it appears that the enemy is heading to retreat," Pratt said.

"It appears that way," Ares said not sure if the enemy really was. "It might be a trap though."

"Should we pursue then," Pratt asked.

"No, we can't risk the fleet just yet," Ares said, as he thought about it. If he had backup forces then he would but a trap was something he did not want to fall into just yet.

"All right then," Pratt said. "We'll fall back to secondary positions to monitor the situation."

The two fleets broke contact as the Arbus fleet retreated back to where ever it was that they came from. Ares already wanted to start using a few of the scout ships to head deeper into the Arbus territory to see if he could find a base of operations. If he could strike back at the Arbus then they might start to sue for peace.

"Bring me the damage reports when they are ready. I'll be in my office," Ares said. "You have the bridge Colonel Smith."

"Yes sir," David said as the commander walked off the bridge and to his office.

BSGBSG

Troy waited his turn as the vipers landed on the landing bay of the Argo. So far he had counted that green squadron lost three pilots out of thirty-give. To Troy it seemed that the new Viper Vs were a success. They had lost a scout ship, and a destroyer in the battle but the other ships appeared to be doing all right. He had not heard any bad reports from the remaining ships.

"Green leader, you are clear to land," he heard Rebecca tell him. He lined up and touched down on the hanger deck.

The flight crew was there right away to take his helmet and repair and see about damage to the viper. He walked over to where the lift was noticing that Bri was there waiting for him. Nall walked up beside him.

"Well, that battle went better than I had expected," Nall said.

"That's for sure, the big boys worked wonderfully," Troy said. "I think it caught them by surprise."

"I think so," Nall said as they arrived at the lift.

"I know I spent most of the battle watching Bri's behind," Troy said looking over at Bri.

"Watch it," Bri said giving Troy a bump with her hips. "The new viper is really great to fly. I could out fly any of those Arbus fighters."

"Yeah, I noticed," Troy said as the lift arrived at their deck. They walked out to head to the cafeteria to grab something to eat.

"She's right though, and I found out that it takes about two big boys to destroy a scout class ship," Nall said.

"I saw that," Troy said. "Their large ship got away though."

"I wonder why we didn't pursue it," Nall said.

"Fear of a trap," Troy said. "They might have done this on purpose but I think this time no."

"Did anyone scan the transports," Bri finally asked, with a bit of curiosity in her voice.

"No," both Nall and Troy said at the same time.

"Neither did I," Bri said. "I wonder what was in them."

"Where's Rebecca," Troy said finally after a few moments of silence.

"She's still on the bridge working. She said that she probably won't be done for another hour or so," Nall replied, as they sat down to eat.

"Well, it seems that Jax has a new wingmate," Troy said, indicating over to where Jax was sitting. Another woman, who Troy assumed was Sara. Their hands were waving widely as they used their hands to show how they were moving in the battle.

"Yep, and she looks relaxed with her as well," Nall said. "I know that before the battle she was worried about her wingmate. She hasn't had a good wingmate since she took command of Gold squadron."

"What about your wingmate," Bri asked Nall.

"Well, he didn't die, and we bailed each other out at least once, I think I'll keep him for now," Nall said.

Bri nodded her head as they wondered what was going to happen next.

BSGBSG

Ares watched as the reports filtered in from the ships that survived the battle. They had lost the destroyer Conqueror and the scout ship Grant. The Tiger had suffered slight damage to her hangar but nothing that would hamper operations for too long. The Puma had suffered a hull breech but was locked down and would require repairs once they got back to Earth. Two of the scout ships were also damaged and would require repair.

The damage to the Argo was actually light compared to the fighting that had gone on. They had lose some of the S-metal covering that would have to be replaced but otherwise a few minor electrical shorts and several dozen small fires but nothing that was not already out. Both hangers were undamaged and combat patrols were already underway.

Ares opened up a communications with Earth to inform General Pakrov of how the battle had gone. There were about five hundred lives that had been lost however in the two destroyed ships alone. He wondered how many other lives had been lost in the battle. This was the one part of command that he did not like but knew was a part of it.

"Commander Ares, it's good to see you," Pakrov said.

"General," Ares said. "I just thought that I would give a report of what happened."

"Well, if you're talking to me then I can assume that the Argo survived," Pakrov said half asking half hoping.

"Yes, the Argo did survive," Ares replied. "As did the Tiger."

Ares could see the relief on the man's face when he was told that information. The Argo and Tiger were the most important ships on the Earth fleet at the moment. Both ships were vital to the defense of Earth and Centari One.

"We did however lose the Conqueror and Grant," Ares said.

"I see," Pakrov said understanding lose that would be involved in those two ships. "That won't affect our patrols then," he asked.

"No, we rotate one destroyer and two scout ships in the patrols of each area. We have enough scout ships for now as well. Both ships were made out of the S-metal though," Ares said. "But it's still had to tell if the ships would have survived if the ships had normal armor."

"I understand," Pakrov said. "Are you going to be heading to Earth to make the report?"

"I was going to head to Centari One. There is something there that I need to do," Ares said.

"The Colonial Bound," Pakrov said.

"Yes, I want to start transferring the personal to Centari One and briefing them on the mission as soon as possible," Ares said.

"I read the latest report on the ship. She should be done in a couple of days now," Pakrov said. "All right, I'll make the report to the council and to the press. The people could use the news. What about the Arbus fleet?"

"We destroyed one attack ship and three escort ships," Ares said. "I think that the other ships all left with some damage. I don't know when we're going to see another attack."

"Understand," Pakrov said. "Are you going to be here for the commissioning of the Daedalus."

"That's next week right," Ares said indicating the new battlestar.

"Next Thursday," Pakrov said.

"And the Panther is going to be completed the week after that," Ares said. It felt good to know that they would have such additional firepower to the fleet. The construction was really advancing quickly. Robotics were doing wonders with that as well. they now had an additional two tankers to help fuel the fleet and an extra two supply ships.

"They are just about to begin construction on Beta One," Pakrov said indicating a new base for construction and mining.

"Good, that will help us out even more," Ares said. "Any more clones spotted?"

"Nothing since four months ago," Pakrov said. They had been able to weed out the clones in a strange test of sorts. Though the clones were not killed but instead used for farming. No one wanted to kill another human regardless of how it became a human. There were still arguments about whether the clones had a soul or not.

"That's good news then," Ares said. He hoped that they had caught all the clones but he was not sure. Until the war ended there was no way to know if they had all the clones or not.

"I will see you when you are here for the Daedalus commissioning then," Pakrov said as the communicator went dead.

Ares sat back thinking about what was coming up. They would be doubling the firepower of the fleet and sending a ship back to the colonies. The door chimed and Ares gave permission for the person to enter. Mike walked into the room wondering why he had been called to the commander's office.

BSGBSG

"Captain, you're wanted on the communicator," the officer said to Captain Scott.

"All right laddie be right there," Scott said walking over to where the communicator was. He pressed the button and was only slightly surprised when Commander Ares appeared on the screen. "Ah, commander, what kin I do for yah."

"Well, I'm going to be reassigning you," Ares said. "I want you to take command of the Colonial Bound."

"A warship, but Ah've never been in command of such a ship before," Scott replied.

"It's a special mission," Ares said. "Captain Gunther is going with you as well."

"Ah see, what's the mission laddie," Scott asked.

"I'll give it to you once I returned to Centari One," Ares said.

"All laddie, ah will be waiting then," Scott said as the transmission ended. It was a bit strange but the only thing he could think of was it concerned the Colonies where the Argo had come from.

"Captain, what was that about," his second in command asked.

"Don't worry about it laddie," Scott said. "The ship will be yours soon."

The second in command was not sure what was going on but he shrugged and continued with what he was doing. He would worry about everything later when it came up.

BSGBSG

Gunther sat in the shuttle as it made its way to the Colonial Bound. The ship had just recently cleared the space docks. The next phase was to undergo a shakedown to make sure that everything was working. That was something that he did not need on this mission. If something on board the ship did not work it could spell disaster for the mission that he was going to be going on.

"So what do you think," Aaron said next to him.

"She's beautiful," Gunther said in reply.

"I hear that Captain Scott is getting command of the ship," Aaron half said half asked. It was also rumored that Gunther was going to be the second in command of the ship. To him that seemed to be a bit strange.

"Yes, that old sea dog is actually looking forward to this," Gunther said.

"What about you, shouldn't you be in command with Scott your second," Aaron asked.

"Well, I'm actually more of an advisor for this mission. You'll understand more when the mission get underway," Gunther said.

"Is it true that we're going to be gone for a while," Aaron asked.

"Yep, we're going into deep space. We'll have to be careful in what we do and how we go," Gunther said. "The last thing we need is for the Arbus to figure out that we're that far into space. It could jeopardize the entire mission."

"I guess you're right," Aaron said.

Gunther did not say that once the Colonial Bound had left for its mission its communication systems were to be disabled. This was a precaution to prevent an erroneous message from going out and being caught by the Cylons. They had encountered the Cylons once on their search for Earth, they did not need the Cylons knowing where Earth was.

The shuttle touched down on the ship which would be his home for the next probably eighteen months. Part of him wondered what would be different when he got back. Would the war still be going on? Would they have a clearer picture of why the Arbus were attacking them? There were so many questions and no clear answers at this point. He hoped that the questions would be answered soon.

End of The Battle Continues

Continued in Preparations


	43. Chapter 43: Preparations

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Preparations**

Gunther walked along the decks of the complete Colonial Bound. Very few people would know the true mission that they were going on. He knew that the official word would be that they were going on a deep space exploration to see if they could find the homeworld of the Arbus. He passed a few people who were starting to make their way aboard the ship. Soon he and others would be heading back to the Colonies.

"Hello laddie," the unmistakable voice of Scott was heard causing Gunther to look over. He could see the man walking towards him.

"Captain Scott," Gunther said. "How are you doing today."

"Not bad, ah gots my stuff all settled ah do," Scott said.

"Well, I think most of the crew is starting to come aboard and settle down. I just hope that we don't have any problems," Gunther said.

"A long trip this will be that's for sure laddie," Scott said as he and Gunther continued down the hallway to the bridge of the ship. "What about you laddie, surely you're glad to be heading home."

"In a strange way yes, but in another way no," Gunther said. "We've been away from the Colonies for almost four yahrens now."

"And most of your crew is young yet," Scott said. "Remarkable thing about the young, they relocate very well."

"Yes they do," Gunther said.

"But you're not that young laddie," Scott said.

"Well, I'm almost fifty yahrens old," Gunther said.

"Fifty, by Poseidon," Scott said. "Ah'm only fifty-five but you don't look a day over thirty."

"Our live spans are close to one hundred and fifty yahrens now," Gunther replied. "I've still got another hundred yahrens left."

"Ah would have thought that the war would have cut into that live span," Scott asked.

"The one hundred and fifty is a natural life span, it excludes war loses, but it can't include stress from losing loved ones," Gunther said.

"A terrible thing war is," Scott said. "But sometimes its unavoidable."

They arrived at the bridge and looked around. It was a bit larger than the Hermes bridge but smaller than a destroyer's bridge. Gunther noticed that the computers on board were a bit more sophisticated than the ones on the Argo. That had to do with the fact that Earth's computers were more advanced than the Colonial's were.

"I noticed a lot of laptops coming on board," Gunther said.

"Yep, for boredom," Scott said. "We even have a few programmers on board as well. It will help pass the time for those not on duty."

"Just so they don't hook them up to the main computers," Gunther said.

"Ah don't think they are that stupid," Scott said.

"Hey Gunther," another voice said. He turned to see Thomas coming onto the bridge. "Did you bring a laptop," he asked him.

"No," Gunther said.

"Too bad, they are great entertainment," Thomas said. Gunther knew that Thomas was one from the Argo so even the ones heading home had these laptops.

"I'm not one for computers," he said eyeing the younger man.

"Yup, technology seems to run in the blood of the younger generations," Scott said. "They push the envelope and the older ones keep it in check, such is the balance of life."

"I guess you're right," Gunther said then turned to head to his quarters to make sure that everything had arrived.

Scott nodded his head and then turned back to look around the bridge.

BSGBSG

Ares walked onto the bridge of the Argo quickly making his way to the command chair. He wanted to gain the latest information about the Colonial Bound. The scout ship was rapidly approaching completion. It would then begin its mission back to the Colonies. He sat down in the command chair then he asked Rebecca for the latest reports and the fleet. It did not take her long to send the reports to the screen in front of Ares.

Ares glanced down though the reports until he got to the Colonial Bound. The report stated that the ship was scheduled to undergo trails today.

"Get Commander Pratt on the line," Ares asked Rebecca. She worked quickly and Pratt's face appeared on the screen.

"Ares, what's up," Pratt asked.

"Has the Colonial Bound started her trails yet," Ares asked.

"Just about to," Pratt said. "The last crewmembers just arrived on board the ship. After they get settled down then the ship is to undergo trails."

"Good, keep me informed about it," Ares said. "Has anything else occurred that I might want to know about?"

"Nope, it's been peaceful around here. The Panther is going to be completed soon and I hear that Beta One will be operational next week," Pratt said.

"Good," Ares said. "What about Doctor Weaver?"

"He is still locked up in his lab going over all types of things," Pratt replied.

"Has his team made any progress on the 'Atlatian' ship," Ares asked.

"I think that's what he is working on," Pratt said. "I really am not sure, he's been working hard lately."

"All right," Ares said. "The battlestar Deadelaus is going to be completed at the end of the month they are saying."

"Where is she going once her trails are over," Pratt asked.

"Well, I think she will make up the nucleus of a new fleet," Ares said. "She along the Panther will be forming the Second Fleet. The Argo and Tiger will make up the First Fleet."

"That would be good," Pratt said. "That way we have two fleets to guard our bases. I am also going to have each fleet with one destroyer, and two scout ships for now. The remainder of destroyers and scout ships will patrol the areas looking for anything unusual."

"Sounds like you have everything covered," Pratt said.

"Everything but the commander," Ares said. "I talked with General Pakrov about this a while ago. I would like to give Colonel Cronus command of the Tiger and promote you to the commander of the Second fleet."

"Are you sure," Pratt asked knowing that this would be a promotion.

"Yes," Ares said. "I know that you can handle the responsibly."

"It would be an honor then," Pratt replied.

"Good, you might want to start making preparations then. And selecting you're flagship. I'll send a list of ships that will be transferred to the Second fleet then," Ares said.

"I'll look it over sir," Pratt said then ended the conversation.

Ares leaned back knowing that one detail was done. He still had a thousand to go.

BSGBSG

Troy sat down in the cafeteria after getting his food. Nall was right behind him and sat down across from him.

"Well, the new recruits are doing better than I thought," Nall said, as he picked over his food.

"We'll really find out when Bri get here," Troy said. They both looked up as the door opened and Bri came into the cafeteria.

"Judging by the face it must not have been too bad," Nall said. "I remember the one group that thought just because she was a woman she could not fly."

"Don't remind me," Troy said laughing a bit. "I know that they haven't forgotten either. Zac from our group was one of the ones from her training."

"Well, he's survived so she did something right," Nall said.

"So where's Rebecca," Troy asked.

"On the bridge, her lunch isn't until later," Nall said. "It was either that or her getting out of bed two hours before me."

"That wouldn't have worked then," Troy said, as Bri sat down at the table.

"Hey, how's your group," Bri asked.

"They're not bad, yours," Troy asked.

"I think that they will survive," Bri said.

"Have you heard that the Colonial Bound is almost ready to start her mission," Nall asked the group.

"Gunther hoped to start trails today," Troy said. "I can't say I blame him."

"So are you sending anything with him," Nall asked.

"You know, I thought of that but decided not to. It might risk the mission," Troy said. "Plus I have a feeling that my father knows already what is going on."

"Have you had anything recently," Nall asked.

"Just the one concerning Commander Cain and the Pegasus," Troy said. "I'm not sure what it means."

"What happened?" Nall said.

"Well, the bridge was heavily damaged but they must have survived whatever it was that happened," Troy said. "I heard a voice say that it worked."

"Strange," Nall said. "I don't have a clue what that could mean."

"Maybe the Pegasus will also survive the destruction of the fleet but somehow I doubt that. I saw the ships destroyed," Troy said.

"Perhaps it is something that you just thing you saw," Nall said.

"No, but then again I saw only four battlestars destroyed, but a vision of the Galactica's bridge said that only the Galactica survived," Troy said remembering a long ago vision.

"I guess then maybe another battlestar is destroyed before what you see," Nall said.

"Well the Pegasus is scheduled to head out with the fifth fleet," Bri said.

"Perhaps that is what you are seeing," Nall said.

"I guess we'll just have to wait and see," Troy said.

BSGBSG

Sam waited in his office quickly clearing a few papers off his desk so that he could meet with Keela. The Skartians had been so far peaceful but Keela had wanted to meet with him. He wondered what the alien wanted. The door opened and Keela walked into the room ducking his head slightly when entering the room.

"Welcome Keela," Sam said standing up to meet the Skartian.

"President Harvey, so good of you to meet with me," Keela said. Sam was impressed that Keela's english was improving so much.

"Please, have a seat," Sam said indicating the larger chair that was brought in whenever Keela was meeting with him.

"Thank you Mr. president," Keela said sitting down.

"Now, what can I do for you," Sam asked.

"Well, we noticed that you don't have Sloius houses or anything equivalent to them," Keela said.

"I'm afraid I am not familiar with Sloius houses," Sam said a bit confused.

"It is a nest of sorts, where we have children," Keela said. "I have come to the belief that your race has children differently than ours does."

"I don't know how your race does it but ours requires a male and female to, well, to have a child," Sam said aware that he was talking sex with an alien.

"Yes, as does ours, but it is not a pleasant experience," Keela said.

"You mean the act of making love," Sam said not sure about this conversation.

"Love, strange word to call it. I know we wouldn't," Keela said. "Because it is not pleasant we feel the urge to 'mate' once every couple of years."

"Ah, I guess that is different, our race it is a very pleasant thing," Sam said. "We spend a lot of our time attracting a mate."

"That would explain a lot of your society," Keela said.

"So you need a Sloius house then. What type of building is required," Sam asked. There were still a lot of damaged building even this long after the invasion.

"I have looked and this building would be fine, we can fix it up," Keela said.

Sam looked at the picture and realized that it was a building that was scheduled to be repaired but the resources were not there yet, especially manpower.

"Let me contact the current owners and see," Sam said.

"We are willing to pay for it," Keela said.

"That will make things even easier," Sam said. "I'll get my aide to work on it right now."

"We would greatly appreciate it," Keela said.

BSGBSG

Ares sat at his desk on board the Argo and looked over the report that he had received. The trails were back from the Colonial Bound. So far everything looked good. He had the feeling that the mission to the Colonies was going to begin very soon. The next report made his eyebrows rise. The Skartians were buying a building on Earth. It was the purpose that made him wonder. The Skartians were going to be using the building as a nest of some sort.

A chime indicated that someone was at the door. Ares replied for the person to enter and Troy walked into the office.

"Captain Troy, what can I do for you," Ares asked.

"I am delivering the reports on the latest trainees on the vipers," Troy said.

"And how are they doing," Ares asked taking the report from Troy.

"They are doing quite well," Troy said. "Are there any reports that we should be aware of?"

"Nothing lately, just this one," Ares said handing the Skartian report to Troy.

"A nest," Troy asked a bit confused by what he had just read.

"That was my thought," Ares said, as Troy handed the report back to him.

"Well in a way it doesn't surprise me," Troy replied.

"In what way," Ares asked.

"Well, they seem to be totally different than we are in how they act and what they do. They don't sleep which is very strange," Troy said.

"That's true," Ares said. "I hadn't thought of it that way yet."

"What about the Colonial Bound," Troy asked. It was the one thing that seemed to dominate the Colonials' thinking.

"The trails came back, they are looking good for launch," Ares said. "Captain Scott is taking supplies at the moment."

"Hmm, wonder if people are thinking it's strange about how many supplies the Colonial Bound it taking," Troy said.

"We watched the situation closely. Only a few outside of us know of the ships purpose. The President does along with a few others and everyone is keeping an eye out for anything that might jeopardize the mission," Ares told Troy.

"Taking no chances," Troy asked.

"Not with this mission," Ares said. He was about to go on when the chime indicated another visitor. "Enter."

A figure walked thought that neither man had dealt with in a while, or at least since the Arbus invasion.

"Private Mike, what can I do for you," Ares asked a bit curious.

"Commander Ares, I would like to ask to be transferred to the Colonial Bound sir," Mike asked.

Ares looked at Troy for a moment before turning to look at Mike. "May I ask why you want to be transferred to the Colonial Bound."

"It's a bit personal sir," Mike said.

"Well try to explain it to me," Ares said. "You were one of the ones who tried to destroy Centari One."

"I know, but I've always thought that we were not alone in the universe. That and I want to try and make up for what I did," Mike said. "I feel that going on this mission would help."

"What mission is that," Ares asked.

"The mission to the Colonies," Mike replied. "The only reason I know about it is because I am friends with several of the original crew of the Argo. I want to make up for my mistake, and see these Cylons."

"It could be dangerous," Ares said.

"I know," Mike said.

"Let me talk to Captain Scott and a few others before I make up my mind," Ares said effectively dismissing the man. Mike nodded his head and left the office.

"Well that was different," Troy said.

"Yeah, now I've got a decision to make," Ares said.

"I understand," Troy said, getting up and walking out of the office. Ares had something to think about.

BSGBSG

Captain Scott went up to the bridge of the Colonial Bound to see what the message was. He was sure that the ship was almost ready and that Commander Ares was calling to see how soon the ship would be ready.

"Commander," Scott said.

"Hello Captain Scott," Ares said. "I want to ask you a question."

"All right," Scott replied.

"Do you know of a Private Mike," Ares asked.

"The only laddie I know of named Mike was part of that attack before the Arbus," Scott said thinking about the question.

"That would be him then," Ares said.

"Then ah know him," Scott said. "He transferred to my ship not long after."

"He wants to go on the mission," Ares said. "I've looked at his record since the attack and it has been spotless."

"Ah seen to that. I think he a good lad, just got in a bad crowd," Scott said. He knew that Mike was a hard worker but he had not heard of the man wanting to go on this mission.

"I'm thinking about letting him go," Ares said.

"Ah see, what if he's part of the Arbus group," Scott asked. He wanted to cover everything just in case.

"I thought about that, it might be a good idea if the Arbus learn about the Cylons as well. It just might give them a reason to talk to us," Ares said.

"A secret mission inside a secret mission, quite clever of you laddie," Scott said.

"Thanks," Ares said.

"So he's in then," Scott said.

"I just wanted to run it by you first knowing that he served under you," Ares said.

"Thank you laddie," Scott said. "I'll make the arrangements for quarters for the lad."

"And I'll let him know about it," Ares said.

The communicator went off and Scott went to carry out the new assignment. He thought about the fact that Mike had been one of the ones to try and blow up Centari One. The man had helped out right away helping Lieutenant Gabrielle when she was injured. He also was very helpful in indicating what government agencies would be against a space undertaking.

For the first couple of months on board the Hermes when Mike had transferred there Scott had kept a close eye on the man. He had been good in his duties and seemed worried when the Arbus attacked the Earth. Looking back on what happened Scott was pretty sure that Mike was not an Arbus clone. The group he was working for probably did have several clones in it though.

BSGBSG

Mike walked back into Commander Ares' office. He was hoping that it meant his request had been accepted. He was a bit nervous as he looked at the commander. Ares motioned for him to have a seat.

"I've gone over your record since the attack on Centari One. You spent some time confined to quarters then were assigned to the Hermes," Ares said.

"Yes sir," Mike replied.

"I also had a talk with Captain Scott who will be in charge of the mission. You do realize that you will be gone for a while," Ares asked.

"Yes sir," Mike said.

"After my talk with Captain Scott we decided to grant your request," Ares said watching as Mike relaxed a bit. The man almost seemed excited about the mission. "You are to report to the Colonial Bound within the hour."

"Yes sir, thank you sir," Mike said getting up. He had a lot to do before he could get on board the Colonial Bound.

BSGBSG

Troy and Bri walked along the corridor heading to their classes where a more recruits were waiting. Since the war had begun they had more than enough recruits. They just did not have enough vipers yet to handle everyone. Right now the training classes were at their maximum in terms of size.

"Well today is the day," Troy said.

"I know, the Colonial Bound will be leaving for its mission," Bri said. "I wonder what will happen."

"I don't know about that. I don't have any visions about that. In fact there really has not been much of anything lately aside from the vision of the Pegasus," Troy said.

"And that one did not give us much. I'm still not sure why you had it," Bri said.

"I don't know. Things work in mysterious ways," Troy said.

"Well, I've got a class full of recruits wanting to learn about flying in space," Bri said.

"You're doing fine," Troy said.

"I know, but I just don't like to teach," Bri said.

"No," he replied looking down at her. "You like kicking their butts."

"It is more exciting," Bri replied.

They reached the class room and walked in. Bri glanced a bit at Troy.

"Oh, didn't I mention, we teaching together this time," Troy said.

"Oh, I get to beat up on you instead of Nall this time," Bri said.

"Yeah, just go easy on me all right," Troy said.

"So where's Nall," Bri asked.

"Taking over command of Green squadron. A few of them will become squad leaders for the new group and he's teaching them some more advanced tactics," Troy said.

"I see," Bri said before turning her attention to the class. "Hello, I am Lieutenant Gabrielle, and this is Captain Troy. We are to train you to become familiar with the viper."

BSGBSG

Ares sat back down on the bridge after having breakfast. The communications screen came to life and as expected it was Captain Scott and Gunther.

"Morning Commander," Gunther said.

"Morning," Ares replied. "How are the preparations going?"

"They just finished," Scott said. "All supplies are aboard."

"All right, then I have just one more order for you," Ares said. "I would like for you to try and avoid contact with most of the fleet. If possible contact the Pegasus or the Pacifica."

"Ah laddie, but may I ask why," Scott said.

"Well, if this mission get out too much it could be a problem," Ares said.

"Ah take it that some of your folks don't know about this mission," Scott said.

"That would be correct," Ares said. "The Argo was constructed without permission from the government and the mission it's on was not authorized either."

"And drawing attention would be like a sinking ship with no lifeboats," Scott said.

"Something like that," Ares said.

"Don't worry laddie, we'll be careful," Scott said giving Gunther a slap on the back.

"Yeah, I'll be careful," Gunther said. "Anything you want me to tell them or bring back?"

"I would say some of those great Beewies but they won't last that long," Ares said.

"Nope," Gunther replied. "But I'll have one for you."

"Gee thanks," Ares said. "All right, get going."

"Yes sir," Scott said.

The communications wend dead and Ares turned his attention to the scanner. He could see the Colonial Bound begin its turn to head at first towards the Arbus controlled space. He knew that as soon as the ship was out of scanner range it would turn and begin its trek towards the Colonies.

"I hope we're still here when you get back," Ares whispered to the blip on the screen. He had no way of know what was going to happen next, or what the outcome of any of this would be.

BSGBSG

The Colonial Bound continued on it path until they were sure that they were out of scanner range. Once that happened they turned the ship. Of course now was the time to inform the crew of the real mission.

"Attention all hands," Scott said. "I know many of you are aware of the Colonial Bound's true mission but I just wish to inform all of you of it. We are on our way to a group of planets called the Colonies. The Colonies is where the battlestar Argo came from along with her crew. We are to make contact with a few of them to inform them of what's going on with the Argo and her true mission. That mission was to hopefully bring help to the Colonies in their fight against the Cylons, a race of machines."

A few of the people on board the Colonial Bound looked at each other but most of the crew already knew.

"The journey there will take about seven to nine months," Scott said. "After making contact we will be heading back to Earth. We are also in a communications black out, this is for the safety of Earth from the Cylons."

Mike glanced around at the group that was with him. He looked at one and wondered why the man was here.

"The Colonies, what an absurd thought," the man said.

"It's true," the woman next to him said.

"Bah, they are part of some sort of group that is the real group behind the attack on Earth," the man said.

"No, but then again that's why you were chosen," Gunther said having walked up behind them.

Mike watched as the man walked away. He would keep an eye on that one for sure.

"Well have to keep an eye on him," Gunther said.

"I was thinking the same thing, you don't think he's a clone," Mike asked.

"Oh, he is, and is part of the Arbus group still working on Earth," Gunther said.

"Then why is he here," Mike asked.

"For them to learn there is a stronger enemy out there, one who doesn't care only that they want your destruction," Gunther replied.

"A risky plan," Mike said.

"Perhaps," Gunther said. "But it had to be taken."

Mike watched as Gunther walked away. Mike made it his mission to make sure that he kept a close eye on the man to make sure the ship completed its mission.

End of Preparations

Continued in Battlestar Daedalus


	44. Chapter 44: Battlestar Daedalus

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Battlestar ****Daedalus**

Ares walked across the bridge of the Argo. The completion of the Daedalus was rapidly approaching completion. He would feel a bit more relieved when the second battlestar was commissioned. It would mean that the Argo would be able to rest a bit. The last Arbus attack had been a couple of months ago. To Ares the attack seemed to be more of a scouting attempt to see how strong the Earth defenses were.

The Tiger's sister ship had been completed and was waiting for the Daedalus to be completed. Gunther had left just about a month ago now to head to the Colonies. He hoped that the mission when well. The latest from the Colonies was that the Pegasus and the Fifth fleet were heading to help out the Delphian race against the Cylons. For Ares that meant that Commander Cain would not be there to report to. Ares could only hope the latest news would not have much of an effect on Gunther's mission.

Ares knew that Commander Backus was still in command of the Pacifica. He would know what to do and how to help out Gunther and the crew of the Colonial Bound.

"Commander," Rebecca said from her position. "Incoming message from Centari One."

"Put it up here," Ares replied. The captain of Centari One appeared on the screen. "Peter, what's the word with the Daedalus?"

"She should be ready for trails within the week," Peter replied. "I was just over looking at it and almost everything is working."

"Good news," Ares said. "Any reports of Arbus activity near the base?"

"Nope, I think that we're still unknown," Peter said.

"Keep an eye out," Ares said. There had been a group of sighting of Arbus ships in nearby systems. Somehow they knew that there was an Earth construction yard out there and they were looking for it. Ares figured that when they found it they would attack.

"Our patrols are going twenty-four seven," Peter said.

"That's good news," Any reports from Doctor Weaver?"

"Nope, he's locked himself in his room and barely comes out now," Peter said.

"Perhaps he's found something," Ares said.

"Perhaps," Peter said. "Are you going to be here for the commissioning ceremony?"

"Along with the others," Ares said.

"Then I look forwards to see you then," Peter said.

"I will see you then," Ares said letting the line disconnect.

BSGBSG

Troy walked down the corridor of the new Battlestar Daedalus. He and Bri were going to be temporarily stationed on the battlestar until the flight crews were ready for combat. Their classes would make up one squadron for the Daedalus. It was something that was actually quite exciting. The ship was going to be ready for trails in the next couple of days. Right now the crew was getting used to the ship and all the operational features of the ship.

"Hey, not quite like the Argo is it," Bri said as Troy walked into the room she was in.

"Not quite," Troy said. "But it is still quite amazing at how quickly they constructed the battlestar."

"No kidding," Bri said.

The battlestar had been started seven months ago and was now almost complete. Destroyers and scouts were being completed even quicker. But then again when construction is proceeding round the clock it does take less time. That and the threat of invasion has helped speed up the process. Many were wondering about the electronics and why systems were kept separate. Only a few in the design process understood that it had to deal with the Cylons.

"I just wish they could get the S-metal fixed," Troy said.

"That would give us a huge advantage over the Cylons and the Arbus," Bri replied.

Troy would have said more but a group of pilots walked into the room. They were to make up the Daedalus' Blue squadron. One of two squadrons that would make up the viper compliment of the Daedalus. The group was still young and their skills were raw still but they had ambition. That was the one thing that would help them out for sure.

"If everyone will have a seat," Bri said to the group. "I hope we all found our quarters just fine."

There were some replies from the pilots. A few of them said no, which did not surprise Troy. The Daedalus was one of the largest ships ever constructed so it would be surprising if everyone found their quarters on the first try.

"Those who didn't get with one of us later on or find someone who is familiar with the ship to help you out. Remember we're all in this together and we've all had the same experience that you've had," Troy said to the group. The few men who had not yet found their quarters gave a quick nod that they would. Troy figured that they were probably the last group to arrive so did not have as much time as the others did.

"Let's begin," Bri said.

BSGBSG

Pratt walked on the bridge of the Daedalus and was amazed at how much it was like the Argo. The big difference was in the computer screen that lined the bridge. Instead of a green screen for most of them these were color and took up less room. The difference in computer size allowed for the bridge to seem to have more space even though it was a bit smaller than the Argo's.

"Commander, here's the checklist for the trails," a young woman said coming up to him. Pratt took the checklist from her with a thank you and looked through it.

There was the engine test, weapon tests, pilot tests, damage control tests, along with what appeared to a lot of other tests. All of the tests were suppose to be complete within a week. Pratt was skeptical about that.

"All right, the schedule looks good," Pratt said signing off on the checklist and handing it back to her.

"I'll let Commander Peter know sir," the aide said then walked off the bridge.

Pratt was again left to look at the bridge of the Daedalus. The battlestar would not have the S-metal on it but he was hopeful that Doctor Weaver would find a way to merge the armor that would give the warships the strength that was needed with the stealth protection that would help them out.

Tomorrow the Daedalus would begin its tests to find out if she was combat ready.

BSGBSG

Weaver glanced at his computer once again to make sure that he was getting everything correct. The portable computers that the Earthers used were very handy. The current computer he had fit into his hand. He only had to talk into it to make it do what he wanted. It was developed specifically for a research type person. He had been told that an archeologist had developed it so that he had a good computer that he could use when excavating.

"Computer record," Weaver said before continuing. "The language appears to be coming along allowing more translation of the ship's symbols. We are about to hook up a power system to the ship and hopefully it will allow us to boot up the ships computers."

"Doctor," a voice said interrupting his thoughts.

"Stop record," Weaver said turning to see an assistant walking towards him.

"We're all ready to start-up the power," he was told.

"Tell them to proceed Kim, I'm going to stay in here and see what happens," Weaver said.

"Very well doctor," Kim said turning around to walk back out from where she came. Weaver turned and looked around the bridge of the ancient Atlantian ship. He hoped that with the infusion of power it would allow the computers to boot up completely. They had learned all they could from what was operational. It was time to begin the next step.

"Doctor, power coming on line now," he was told thought he computer.

"All right," Weaver replied waiting to see if anything would happen.

Turning slowly in a circle he did not want to miss anything if it did not happen again. He wondered what would be the first thing to occur. The lighting came on which mean that he could turn off the portable lighting units that they had brought in. He walked around to turn them off but was a bit disappointed when none of the other computer systems on the bridge came to life.

"Anything doctor," he was asked.

"Just the lighting," Weaver said.

"It's something," the reply came.

"Yeah," Weaver said. He walked over to where the one computer was. There was nothing there that seemed to be out of the ordinary. He had hoped that when the power came on the systems would boot up.

"Nothing," Kim said walking back into the room.

"Nope," Weaver said a bit disappointed.

"Well, maybe we have to boot up the main computer," she replied looking at the screen with him.

"Main computer," Weaver said.

"Yeah, pardon me for saying so but this ship might have one central computer controlling everything. After all it was not designed to fight the Cylons," Kim said logically.

"That could be possible," Weaver said. "Let's look," he said, not wanting to mention that a lot of times he gets stuck in his thinking to go against the Cylons he forgets that there are other ways to do things.

"What if we just hit this," Kim said.

Weaver shrugged his shoulders. "Donno," he replied. "Hit it."

Kim pushed the button and for a second they were disappointed when nothing happened. Then every screen on the bridge came on.

"Yes," Weaver said, his eyes taking on a twinkle as he watched everything come on.

"Looks like we won't be seeing you for a while, just remember to bathe doctor," Kim said smiling at the doctor.

"Huh," Weaver said, as he turned his attention back to Kim.

"Never mind," Kim said.

Weaver turned back to the screens in front of him. There was a lot of work to do now and he could not wait.

BSGBSG

Troy and Bri watched at the side of the bridge of the Daedalus as part of the evaluators to make sure that the crew was working as well as possible. The first of the training trails had begun. This was the helm trail.

"Turn to heading thirty point negative five," Pratt said.

Troy watched as the crew carried out the orders. Part of him could imagine the ship turning even though there really was nothing that could be felt. So far everything was working well as the Daedalus was turning hard at battle speed.

A few more turns were executed before the exercise was over and the Daedalus was heading back to the yard. The crew would go over the engines and everything else to make sure that nothing had been damaged in the trial. Troy and Bri walked back to Pratt's office to give him the performance review of the bridge crew.

"So," Pratt said as they sat down in the office. "What did you think?"

"They are a bit green, some slow responses but I put that up to nerves," Troy said. "Overall I would have to say that they passed."

"That was my feeling," Pratt said.

"Several of them have already seen combat but a few are new," Troy said. "It won't be until you actually see combat that you will know how well they operate."

Pratt nodded his head in agreement with what Troy had said. Troy had the feeling that the bridge crew would do quite well. The testing had for the most part found all the clones that might get into a command position on board a ship.

"Tomorrow is the viper tests," Pratt said. "Are the pilots up to that?"

"They better be," Bri replied.

"Yeah, or else their instructor will kick their ass," Troy replied glancing at Bri.

"Oh, intimidation," Pratt said. "I like it."

"Well she has had a lot of pratice," Troy said.

"Ah yes, how is Nall doing these days," Pratt asked.

"Going though withdraw," Troy replied. "He hasn't been able to bug Bri now for a couple of days."

"Poor guy," Pratt said. "Anyway, I want to be able to start the launching and landing of vipers early tomorrow."

"I think we should be able to do that," Bri said. "The pilots have been able to get acquainted with their vipers, it will also test the fighter command on the bridge as well."

"I look forward to the tests," Pratt said.

BSGBSG

Mike walked up to the bridge of the Colonial Bound and looked around. On one side of the bridge stood both Gunther and Scott. Gunther spotted him and walked over to see what Mike wanted.

"Anything wrong," Gunther asked.

"No, I was just a bit bored today," Mike replied. "I was just wondering what you guys do up here all day."

"Nothing much," Gunther replied. "I've gone over the latest from the Colonies. It looks like we're going to miss Commander Cain though."

"Will that put anything in jeopardy," Mike asked.

"No, we've got other contacts that we'll meet up with at the Colonies," Gunther said.

"I do have something to ask," Mike finally said. "In your journey here or on the way back did you encounter any strange spacecraft?"

"One, but it was from them that we got the S-metal. We helped them out with their engines," Gunther said.

"Oh, I see," Mike replied. He really was not sure what type of answer to expect.

"How's our clone doing," Gunther asked finally.

"Keeping to his duties," Mike said. He had kept a close eye on the man.

"I notice that you're keeping an eye on him," Gunther said.

"Someone has to," Mike said.

"I know but this might help end the current war that Earth is involved in," Gunther said.

"Still a risky plan," Mike said.

"Well, some are also keeping an eye on you as well," Gunther said.

"Afraid that I might blow something up," Mike said. "I made a mistake, I don't like to make a second mistake."

"Good," Gunther replied. "The captain and I really are not that worried about you. We know that you'll do your job."

"Thanks," Mike said walking off the bridge.

"What was that about laddie," Scott asked as Gunther walked back over.

"He was a bit bored today," Gunther said. "He also asked if we had encountered any strange spacecraft when we came from the Colonies."

"Interesting," Scott said rubbing his chin in thought.

"Something come to mind," Gunther asked.

"Just thinking about something," Scott said. "Let me think about it some more before I say anything."

"All right," Gunther said.

BSGBSG

Bri walked though the hanger where several pilots were standing by. Troy was right next to her as they walked to the front of the group. She looked over the group before speaking. She knew that for many of them this would be their first time flying out of a battlestar for real and not just a simulator.

"Many of you are probably nervous but you should do just fine," Bri said. She looked at each person directly in the eye before continuing. "The next step is to launch from the battlestar. All of you are also receiving new fighters, the new Viper Vs. These fighters are faster and more maneuverable than what you are used to so be careful."

"All right everyone, get to your vipers and prepare to launch. Once out there is a group of targets that we'll be attacking to evaluate your performance," Troy said. "Lieutenant Bri and I will be launching ahead of you so that we can see how well you're doing. Captain Jax will be on the bridge to see how you do from there. Let's go."

Bri and Troy walked to their vipers ready for what was going to happen next.

"Do you think they are ready for the launch yet," Bri said.

"It's always a shock the first time launching from the launch tube," Troy replied.

"I remember my first time," Bri said. "I think I was scared out of my mind."

"Try doing your first launch into combat," Troy said.

"Ohh, that must have been nerve wreaking," Bri replied.

"Yeah, the battle of Cannon six," Troy said.

"A rough battle," Bri said.

"I think it was three basestars and two battlestars slugging it out," Troy said. "They managed to sneak up on us but we were better that day."

"You also had Commander Cain on your side for that battle," Bri replied.

"Sometimes I think he can win a battle just by his presence," Troy said. "In fact I think that's why they attacked. To try and kill him."

"Could be," Bri said as she arrived at her viper. "Well, I'll see you out there."

"Count on it," Troy said as he continued on.

Bri climbed into her viper and waited until she had permission to launch. The controller on the bridge told her that everything was ready. Then she was finally told that she could launch when ready.

Bri pushed down on the turbos and was accelerated out into space. She was followed a short moment later by Troy. They formed up on each other while getting into position to watch the launch of the others.

The first viper launched without any trouble and Bri could only hope that the rest of the day went like this. A few seconds later the second one went flying out.

"How do they look," Jax said over the intercom.

"Not bad so far," Bri replied. "Nothing that isn't normal for a first time launcher."

"Okay, the first two have looked good so far," Jax said. "We'll see when it comes to landings."

Bri knew that would be another problem. A battlestar was not easy to land on that was for sure. On the other side it was not like landing on an aircraft carrier on Earth as a person did not have to worry about falling into the ocean. A pilot could fly into the landing bay with little speed. The one thing that they tried not to do was to land at high speed.

"Next pair launch," Bri said to Jax as the other two who had launched were not performing a series of tests with Troy. It was going to be a long day.

BSGBSG

Ares walked onto the bridge knowing that today was the day that he would be heading to Centari One for the official commissioning of the Daedalus. The battlestar would be a welcomed addition to the fleet. Then there was the Panther which was approaching completion here at Earth. The latest report was that the ship would be ready at the end of next month. There were some delays in some materials as a person had miscalculated a cut on an important piece. The construction had to wait as the piece was redone and brought to the yard.

He looked down at the paper which had the latest drawing of the next class of battlestars. They looked flatter but had more weapons on them. Some of the designers were still wondering why they could not integrate the computer systems. Ares had finally told them the truth about the Cylons. He was glad that General Pakrov was there to help him out with that one.

"Commander, incoming message from Centari One," Rebecca said.

"Put it up here," Ares said, wondering if it would be Peter or Pratt. He was not that surprised when Pratt's face appeared.

"I thought that I would find you still on board the Argo," Pratt said.

"Yeah, well I was about to head on over to the Hermes to head to Centari One," Ares replied.

"I just wanted to tell you the results of the latest test on the Daedalus," Pratt said. "Everything went great and the pilots are getting the feel of flying off a battlestar."

"Good," Ares said. "I am looking forward to being able to have a second fleet to work with."

"Its a bit different than home," Pratt siad.

"Yep, I am using everything that Cain and Bakkus told me," Ares said. It had been a while since he had really thought about Commander Cain even though he was the one who suggested him for this mission. He had gone from wanting to find help for the Colonies by finding Earth to protecting Earth. It was a strange twist of fate if he thought about it too hard.

"Any idea as to how long the mix up delayed the Panther," Pratt asked.

"End of next month," Ares replied.

"Any sign of the Arbus," Pratt asked.

"No, and that worries me," Ares said. "I'm thinking of sending the Argo on a mission towards Arrbus space to find out what's going on."

"That could raise questions about the Colonial Bound then," Pratt said.

"I know, I've thought about that already," Ares said. He could say that because they had not heard anything from the Colonial Bound that it was another mission with a larger ship that would increase the chance of success.

"Commander, shuttle one is waiting to transport you to the Hermes," Rebecca said interrupting the conversation between Ares and Pratt.

"I'll be right there," Ares said to her. "Gotta go, otherwise Rebecca might launch the shuttle without me."

"Sounds like someone is taking lessons from Bri," Pratt said.

"I think so," Ares replied.

"I'll have the full report ready when you get here commander," Pratt said.

"I look forward to having the ship combat ready," Ares said as the communicator went dead. He got up and walked off the bridge and headed to the hanger where the shuttle was waiting.

BSGBSG

Ares stood in the observation lounge of the space station that was orbiting near the dockyard. Next to him was a couple of news reporters along with their cameramen. They were there to document the occasion for future generations. They had been given strict orders not to tape the dockyard and what was being constructed. This was in case the Arbus were still watching on Earth.

"Commander Ares," a female voice said. He looked over to see a newswoman heading towards him with a cameraman and a microphone in her hand. "A moment of your time please commander."

Ares wanted to disappear at that moment but knew that an honest relationship with the press could help out later on.

"Sure, but I don't want to miss the ceremony that's about to begin," Ares said.

"No problem, just wanted to ask you how you feel about the commissioning of the Daedalus," she asked.

"Well, it basically doubles the protection that Earth has," Ares said. "It will allow for more balanced rotation of the ships in and out of front line service. This will allow upgrades to be fitted on board the ships too."

"Why is this base so secret," she asked.

"It's not really a matter of keeping it secret from our own people but secret from the enemy. The less they know the better our chances are," Ares said.

"Okay I think I can deal with that for now," she said before asking her next question. "Have we learned anything new about the Arbus?"

"Nothing lately which is unfortunate as it might give us a clue as to why they are attacking us," Ares said.

"Is it true that an ancient ship was discovered on this planet," she asked.

"That is true, and some of the writing on it resembles ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs. We have a team of experts working on it to see if we can find anything out about it," Ares said.

"Do you think that it might hold something about the Arbus," she asked.

"I find that highly doubtful as the ship is really old and the war with the Arbus recently started," Ares said.

"Thank you commander for your time," she said. They turned to see that the commissioning ceremony was beginning.

Ares excused himself and made his way to the platform where many people were waiting to help commission the ship. A few speakers would be talking about the ship and the crew. The group would then be shuttled over to the Daedalus where the final ceremony would take place. On the hanger deck a bottle of champagne would be broken in the hanger to represent an ancient tradition on Earth. Then the Daedalus would be fully commissioned and ready for battle.

Ares looked on at the familiar shape of the battlestar. It was strange to be seeing a new battlestar being commissioned when the Quarm of the Twelve would not order the building of a new battlestar to replace current losses. He could only hope that the war with the Arbus did not last much longer.

End of Battlestar Daedalus

Continued in Revelations


	45. Chapter 45: Revelations

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Revelations**

Doctor Weaver worked at his computer while a few other technicians also were working at their computers. They were on board the Atlantian ship that had been found. He turned to the other workers to see if they were ready.

"How are the preparations coming," Weaver asked the group.

"Just uploading the last of the data now doctor," one of the aides said.

"Everything should be ready, now," the other tech said.

"Good," Weaver said turning to his computer. They had been working on the symbols in the computer and had finally integrated everything into the computer from both ancient Earth, at least the known symbols that could be deciphered and the Kobal symbols that the Colonials knew.

The computer took a few seconds before finally it began to display its data. Weaver stood there in shock then let out a yell of excitement.

"It worked, it worked," Weaver yelled having stood up and was not sitting back down at the computer.

"We're getting something," one tech asked with excitement in his voice.

"Oh yeah," Weaver said. "By the lords of Kobal, it's a history log," he said as he scanned though a bit of the data. Deciding that it was time to see what the ship was he clicked on one of the files. It was a record from the captain of the ship.

BSGBSG

"Captain's log [unknown], the Orion has traveled for a while and there has been no sign of the [enemy] that has attacked us. Our people were only looking for a place to settle down and live. So far the [enemy] has not told us anything about why they attacked us. The only thing that we have found out for sure is that they are highly territorial," the captain said into the computer.

"Sir, incoming ship, [hostile]," the scanner operator said.

"All decks to battlestations," the captain said. "Prepare for combat."

The Orion went to battlestations as her crew raced to combat stations. The [enemy] was approaching rapidly and combat was assured. The [enemy] ship opened fire at about the time that the Orion did. The two ships fired at each other trying to destroy the other.

"Damage to engines," the report came to the captain.

"Not good," the captain said. "I told those designers that the engines were too weak for this ship. Now it appears that we are the ones to have to deal with it. All right, concentrate all fire on the weapon systems of the attacker."

The Orion continued to fire but with her engines damaged her power was failing all over. That affected the weapon systems as a result the weapons no longer were able to fire at the full force as at the beginning of the battle. The [enemy] ship was still firing at full force.

"Sir, receiving damage reports from all over the ship," the captain's second in command siad to him.

"Navigation is out," the navigator said. "Heading to the nearby planet."

"Continue firing, any idea as to when repairs can be done," the captain asked.

"Repair crews are working as fast as they can captain," the second in command said. "They say that the damage is quite extensive though."

"I think I can navigate enough to where we crash land on the surface instead of making a crater," the navigator said.

"Do it, what about the [enemy] ship," the captain said.

"When we started to approach the planet [they] backed off. Probably afraid of getting to close to the gravity of the planet," the second in command said.

"All crewmembers this is the captain, prepare for a crash landing," the captain said to the rest of the ship.

The Orion headed to the surface of the planet on what would be a rough landing for sure.

BSGBSG

Weaver looked up from his reading. "So we're on the Orion," he said.

"What," one aide said.

"The name of the ship is the Orion," Weaver said.

"Then it's working," the aide asked excited.

"Yeah, it's translating most of it and I can figure out most of it," Weaver said. "It seems that they were at war against someone."

"Any idea as to who it was," the aide asked.

"No that part I cannot make out," Weaver said. "It's an unknown name, just like the captain's name and the other crew members."

"What about this file," the aide asked.

"Let's see what it says," Weaver said opening the file.

BSGBSG

"Captain's log [unknown], the Orion had finally been completed. It was designed to fight the [enemy] that has been discovered here. We are hopeful that with the new class of warships that we can stem the tide of battle against us," the captain said. "After our voyage though the stars from our home we had hoped to make a new home here. We found a planet that can support life and would make a nice place to live. We had hoped to just live peacefully on the planet. That did not last long as they came."

"Captain, the Heracles is hailing us," the communications officer said.

"Captain [unknown], what can I do for you," the captain of the Orion asked.

"Admiral [unknown] is saying that we are to pair up for our next patrol. He thinks that the [enemy] is going to try and attack from [this direction/place]. He wants us to patrol it," [unknown] said.

"All right, we are ready to move out whenever you are captain," the Orion captain said.

"Be sure to have your scanner operating. The [enemy] loves to ambush the patrols," [unknown] said. With that the communicator went dead.

The captain turned to his crew and reported what he had just been told by [unknown]. They all seemed to understand what was going on. This would be their first such mission and everyone was just a bit nervous about what was going to happen. the captain hoped that they would not encounter any [enemy] warships so soon. He just hoped that they would have enough time to train his crew before they engaged in battle.

BSGBSG

Weaver turned to look away from the screen again. The files were not in any order that he could discover. They did not have the translations for time and dates that the crew of the ship used. Then there was the enemy. The name for them was another word that the computers were not able to decipher yet. He wondered who they were.

He rubbed his eyes and noticed that it was about time to eat. He turned to see the rest of his people still sitting at their computers as well. They were all reading just as much as he had been.

"Is anyone hungry," Weaver said to the group breaking their concentration. The group looked up at him then thought about it for a few seconds.

"I didn't even notice that it was time to eat," one person said.

"I take it then that we're all engrossed in what we are reading then. Does anyone have anything interesting to report," Weaver said.

"Just a battle report from one of the crewmembers. He described some damage to the ship and I believe how he went about repairing it," another person said.

"Any time references that you could get," Weaver asked.

"Nothing about the time but I would like to take it along with an engine mechanic to check it out and see if we can decipher some of it," the person replied.

"Do it," Weaver said.

"I'll get something to eat for everyone," a person said.

"Tell you what, I'll go with you so everyone write down what you want," Weaver said.

A couple of minutes later the two men were on their way to the cafeteria to collect the food for the group. As they got to the cafeteria they were met by Commander Peter coming out.

"Doctor Weaver, Lenny, how are you doing with the ship? You missed the commissioning of the Daedalus," Peter said to him.

"When was that," Weaver asked.

"Two days ago. Commander Ares also asked how things were coming," Peter asked.

"Two days," Weaver replied looking at Lenny who just shrugged his shoulders. "Well, we finally were able to get the translator program to work. It's yielding a bountiful harvest of information. We should have a preliminary report for you by the end of the week."

"Preliminary report," Peter asked. He had hoped that they would be able to give him a better report.

"There's a lot of information in there," Weaver replied. "If we find anything important out we'll let you know."

"Then I look forward to reading the report," Peter said. "I need to get back to the command tower before something else happens."

Weaver watched as the commander walked away before turning to look back at Lenny. "Two days," he repeated. "I guess time does fly when you're having fun. Did you know that two days had passed?"

"No, I'm sure that the others will think it's a shock as well," Lenny said.

They both went packed up the food then headed back to the Orion. On the way back Weaver was wondering if they would be able to get the Orion back into flying shape. He guessed that most of that was how badly damaged the ship was and how much they could figure out how the engine worked.

Walking back onto the bridge of the Orion he quickly passed out the food in informed them how long they had worked. They were like Weaver though, excited to find out more about the ship that they were just now learning things about.

Weaver passed out the food and the group continued to work. Weaver went back to his computer and brought up another file. He wondered what this one would have to say.

BSGBSG

Captain's log [unknown date], we've been on patrol now for a [unknown]. So far there has been no sign of the [enemy] or anything else. I think that it's too quiet out here. We are one of the last patrol ships left in the fleet. The [enemy] is getting very good in their tactics against us. The technology is about the same as ours though. I think that is what makes all of this so frustrating for everyone. They are just able to out think us at the moment.

In the last battle with the [enemy] we lost the Heracles to the [enemy] fighters. They hit us right where out weakness was. We were exploring the asteroid belt when a group of fighters came out from in front of us. Thinking that they would have a group behind us we kept our scanners looking behind us as well. They did have one ship, but it was more of a lure than anything else.

When we turned to face the threat the real ambush began. From the sides they attacked. Two ships on each side. Captain [unknown] ordered a retreat as we were outnumbered in this battle. We turned to retreat but the ship that was behind us attacked. They seemed to be concentrating on just one ship. Fortunately for us, or unfortunately depending on how you look at it, they concentrated on the Heracles and not the Orion.

The Orion managed to get clear of the asteroids and call for help from the fleet. By the time they got there the [enemy] had finished with the Heracles and was retreating. The Admiral decided not to pursue. I'm sure that if he had the fleet would have also been destroyed as well. If that had happened then the [enemy] would be able to destroy us with ease.

I am concerned with the war effort back home though. There seems to be a growing movement to leave Earth and head for a different planet that would support life. We passed a few on the way here. Perhaps if we did that they would not follow us. It was something that was wishful thinking that was for sure.

The one reason why we have not gone that route yet is we are not sure that they would not follow us. It seems to be that we are stuck in a no win situation much like we were in back at Kobal. We fled one disaster only to have another waiting for us. I wonder if the universe isn't conspiring against the human race.

BSGBSG

Weaver looked up from his reading. He wondered what the captain of the Orion would think about the current situation. Here on Earth the Arbus were trying to take over and back at the Colonies the Cylons were trying to wipe the humans out of the galaxy. He was not sure that anything had changed.

The one thing that Weaver wished was that he knew the order for the logs. He was looking though the captain's logs which was a combination of his personal thoughts and the events that were going on for that day. If Weaver could figure out some sort of order then he would be able to sort them out. He knew that the first one he read was probably close to being the last log. The second one he read was probably one of the first logs to be written. Now all he had to do was find some sort of pattern to the symbols.

Weaver decided that he would start by numbering the logs into an order that he thought that they went into with current numbers. He rubbed his eyes knowing that there was a lot of work still to do before he would be able to get anything going. He decided that he would need to read a few more to hopefully gain a bit more of the dating sequence that the Atlantians used.

BSGBSG

Captain's log [unknown date], we have successfully completed our first patrol. As I had hoped it went without a problem. That allowed for the crew to become familiar with the ship and its systems. I don't think that it would have been to our advantage to have met up with the [enemy].

The crew is really starting to come together which surprised me. I was expecting some problems with discipline but so far nothing. We did a lot of drills and test to make sure that the weapons work.

The only problem I had with the ship was the engines and their power. I feel that the power output is below what it should be. I was told that the engines would function just fine and there would be no problems. I am beginning to understand what captain [unknown] meant when he was talking about the Olympia. She is the sister ship to the Orion of this class of patrol ships.

The Orion and her sisters are wonderful ships, adequately armed and armored but there is a general notion that the engines are woefully weak for the power demands of the ship. I just hope that I never have to find out if that's true or not.

While we were out on patrol the [enemy] struck a different patrol. They seem to be trying to destroy our patrol ships. Another ambush destroyed the Eros. I am worried about the way the [enemy] is destroying the ships. It is almost as if they know where the patrol ships are and when to attack them.

The command staff continues to change the codes for the warships but it seems like they break them just as fast. There is a general feeling in the military that if something isn't done soon then we might lose this war. I hope that it does not come to such a thing though.

BSGBSG

Weaver looked up from the file. Whoever that enemy was that they had fought was either very advanced or very good in breaking codes. Even the Cylons were not that good breaking codes. They switched codes often between warships but the code makers could generally figure out when the Cylons were starting to break the code.

"Doctor, I think you should take a look at this file," Lenny said from where he was sitting. He had a look on his face that was one of shock.

Weaver walked over to where Lenny was. "All right what do you have for me now," Weaver asked.

"This file here," Lenny said.

Weaver quickly read over the file before realizing that they had a file that might explain a lot of what was going on.

"Download the file to my computer at once," Weaver said walking over to where his computer was. "I'm going to talk with Commander Ares about this and probably the council as well. This is a find for sure," Weaver said. Part of him was excited by what had been found as it explained almost everything. He almost could not believe his luck at such a find.

"Transfer of the file is complete doctor," Lenny said.

"All right, I'm going to see the commander, I want the rest of you to continue going over the files. If you find anything else let me know at once," Weaver said. He picked up his computer and walked out heading to the base where he would get a transport to the Argo.

"What was in the file," one person asked Lenny.

"The answer as to who this enemy was that the Orion was built to defend against and a clue to why the Arbus attacked us," Lenny replied.

BSGBSG

Commander Ares sat in the command chair on the bridge of the Argo. He looked over the recent files from the Colonies and was hopeful that the Arbus might be defeated in time to help out the Colonies in their battle against the Cylons. He was not sure that the war against the Arbus was going to end quickly. He really needed to know more about them.

They had received more information from Keela and his race. They were just a bit above the technology that the Earthers were when the Arbus attacked. It was almost as if they attacked anyone who might start to gain technology that could be a threat to them. Ares briefly wondered if their strategy was the same. Clones and surprise attacks. He wondered how they would fare against the Cylons.

"Commander, I have a shuttle with Doctor Weaver on board requesting to talk to you," Rebecca said.

Ares' eyebrows went up at that comment. He wondered what the doctor wanted now.

"All right, have him meet me in my office," Ares said rising and heading to his office. "Also report a list of how the refits are going and when we will be fully operational again."

"Yes sir," Rebecca said as she turned back to her station.

Ares walked into his office wondering what Weaver could be wanting. Whatever it was it had to be important enough for him to make his way up here to make the report instead of doing it over the communicator. Perhaps they had found something on board that Atlantian ship that Weaver and his team were working on.

A chime indicated that Weaver was at the door. Ares indicated for Weaver to come in. The doctor came into the room and sat down in across from Ares.

"So what brings you back on board the Argo," Ares asked.

"We have it," Weaver said putting his computer on the desk. "We have it, the answers to just about all the questions."

"What questions," Ares asked a bit confused but also hopeful as well.

"Why Earth doesn't have any memories of Kobal and why the Arbus are attacking Earth," Weaver said.

Ares waited patiently for a few seconds before finally breaking down and asking what Weaver had found.

"This commander," Weaver said bringing up the file that one of the members of the team had found.

Ares quickly read though the file hoping that Weaver had found something that they could use.

BSGBSG

[Unknown], after traveling so far and overcoming so much we finally made it to our new home, Earth. Unfortunately the peace did not last long. Shortly after arriving at the planet and before we were able to destroy the very technology that had doomed Kobal we encountered a new race, the [unknown]. They struck us without warning laying waste to our newly formed society.

We were never sure where they came from only what they looked like. They were smaller beings with grey skin and large black eyes. Their heads were larger in proportion to their bodies compared to humans. They also had no skin on their body.

We also learned another thing, they seemed to try and subjected everyone under their control. We were not able to learn much more than that. The few [unknown] that were captured quickly took their own lives. The most we got out of them was what their race was called and what they planned to do with the human civilization.

They were not there to destroy humankind, but to rule over them. They liked power and maintaining their power meant that no other race could be able to compete with them technologically. The one thing that we have found out is that they view any race that advances quickly as a threat. They seem to advance very slowly. What might take the human race a hundred years to develop would take them thousands of years or more. They view this as a threat to their survival. So they adapted their society to conquering such races and then making sure they remain at a level below them.

Because we came from Kobal, and not from this part of the galaxy they view us as a threat to their society. They do not believe us when we say we do not want the war, but to just live peacefully. One [unknown] actually told us how they will keep us down. They will weave clones into our society at the time when we start to become dangerous again. When they attack to wipe out the civilization then the clones will make sure that the human race does not fight back.

BSGBSG

Ares glanced up from his reading to look at Weaver. He was not sure about what he had just read.

"Are you saying that the Arbus and the ones that I'm reading about are the same," Ares asked.

"I think so commander. It appears that the thirteenth tribe accidentally 'discovered' the Arbus after fleeing from Kobal. A war ensued which apparently the thirteenth tribe lost," Weaver said. "The clones, inability to fight back, it all makes sense."

"Yes, it does," Ares replied. "But what happened, how did they lose."

"It appears that the Arbus were quite cleaver at setting ambushes," Weaver replied having read that from the Captain of the Orion's logs

"The S-metal," Ares said. "They are not able to see some of our ships."

"That would have to be it," Weaver said.

"But I would think that in the thousands of years since they beat the thirteenth tribe that they would be more advanced than they are," Ares said.

"Remember, they take a long time to technologically advance compared to some other races," Weaver said.

"Yes, you're right," Ares said. "Then that is our advantage, the war against the Cylons."

"Yes, we developed faster with that war and because of it we are now technologically more advanced than they are," Weaver said.

"Then we must keep that advantage," Ares said. He then turned to his communicator and asked to talk to President Harvey. "It also explains the reason why Kobal is not in Earth's history. They probably erased everything from the survivors minds. But why not just wipe the entire race out, why keep them around?"

"That commander I'm afraid that I do not know," Weaver replied. It was a good question and one that would require an answer for sure.

"Commander Ares, you wanted to talk to me," President Sam Harvey said his face appearing on the screen.

"Yes, I think I have some answers to our current question of why the Arbus are attacking us, and why they attacked Keela's race as well. He should be there as well to hear this," Ares said.

"You have found something then," Sam asked.

"Yes, and it will raise more questions in the senate but perhaps it is time to tell them some of the other things as well," Ares said.

"Very well, I'll get the council together for you then commander," Sam said.

"Thank you," Ares said as the line went dead. "Doctor, I would like it if you went and talked with the council as well."

"All right commander," Weaver said reluctantly.

"Good," Ares said sitting back. Perhaps they could win this war this time. They had to for the sake of the Colonies.

End of Revelations

Continued in Attack Anew


	46. Chapter 46: Attack Anew

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Attack Anew**

Sam sat back listening to what Commander Ares was saying. It made a lot of sense now. A race who did not develop technology very quickly was making sure that other races would not overtake them. In one way it almost seemed absurd at the thought the war had come because they had developed to the point where they could travel in space. They also apparently had a large empire as well.

"Are you saying that the Arbus has done this before," one council member asked.

"From the record logs of the Atlantian ship Orion, yes," Weaver said.

"That would mean that they had developed a civilization as great as we have right now and the Arbus defeated us. I wonder how many times they had done this then," the man said. It was a startling revolution, one that would impact every part of the society at all levels. "Then does this mean everything we know has been their plan?"

"There are still something's that are unknown. The Orion mentions that humankind came from a place called Kobal. Where that is unknown what is known is that they moved to Earth looking for peace," Ares said not saying that he had been to Kobal.

"Then we are not even from this planet," the man said. "This is almost too much to comprehend."

"You must overcome generations of conditioning by the Arbus. But make no mistake, you are part of this planet, Earth is our home," Ares said with conviction. It was a bit strange to him. He was arguing that they were Earthlings as if he was one as well. In a strange way he felt like he did belong here as well.

"Then there are others out there as well," the man asked.

"Could be, but they could be just like you, or too far away to know about you," Ares replied as honestly as he could knowing the truth.

"Then we need to fight, and find them," one woman said. "It's time we took our place among the stars."

Several people agreed with her. There were a few who did not. Some wanted to destroy the technology that had made the Arbus attack them. They argued that if they destroyed the technology then the Arbus would not have any reason to attack them.

"That sounds reasonable," Ares said. "But there is still a problem. How do you destroy knowledge that a person already knows. The only way I know of is to kill the person. Is that what you are proposing? Kill anyone who knows how to make the technology?"

"Well, or course not. But if we don't use it then they won't feel threatened," one council member replied.

"Can you make certain that no one will use them. Many in your society are used to the technology. Personal computers small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. You will create an entire underground movement about technology that will use it and develop it even if it against the law," Ares said.

"Ares is right, we have no way to control everyone. Our history tells us that. Even the most rigid of governments had a corrupt underground that operated against the laws," Sam said speaking up for the first time.

"Then what do you suggest," the man said.

"We continue on our path," Sam said. "We do as Senator Yvette said, we fight and take our place in the stars."

Ares looked on as the council made its decision to continue to fight. The new information did not hamper that spirit.

BSGBSG

"Troy, did you hear the latest news," Nall said as Bri and Troy walked into the rec room on board the Argo.

"What news," Troy replied as he and Bri turned to head to where Nall and Rebecca were sitting.

"It's actually quite exciting," Nall said glancing around to see who was in the room with them. "They managed to translate most of the data from the crashed ship on Centari One."

"Really, what did they find out," Troy asked sitting down.

"Well it seems that they were from Kobal. And that shortly after getting to Earth they were attacked by an alien race," Nall said to them. "The race was smaller than we are, grey skin, and large black eyes."

"The Arbus," Bri asked wondering if it could be.

"That's what everyone thinks," Nall said. "They said the reason they attacked them was the thirteenth tribe was almost as advanced as they were. Something they could not handle."

"They also think that because the enemy had a plan to use clones to maintain their technological superiority over other races. They put the clones into important positions just before attacking the planet to make sure an easy victory," Rebecca said.

"That would explain the clones, but it still doesn't give up much about them," Troy said thinking about what he had just learned. "It seems that they fear something, but what?"

"The new question," Nall replied. "I wonder how large their empire really is?"

"Perhaps that is why they haven't attacked up that much yet," Bri said musing out loud.

"What do you mean Bri," Troy asked.

"Well, if they advance slowly then their entire society probably doesn't change very quickly. If you use that logic then they probably don't build things that quickly as well," Bri said following a logical path. She was stuck with the thought about a race that did not develop quickly and how that would affect everything else.

"Well, it does put us with something in common with the Skartians," Troy said.

"Rapid technological growth," Rebecca said. "I can see that, we went from being able to have powered flight to landing on the moon in just sixty years."

"Wonder how long it took the Arbus," Nall questioned.

"I know that if the Cylons attacked them they would not have much of a chance," Bri said.

"War against the Cylons has to involve changing technologies and tactics," Troy said thinking about the war that had gone on for such a long time.

"Well, I need to get up to the bridge," Rebecca said, as she looked at her watch to see what time it was.

"See you later Becca," Nall said as Rebecca got up to head to the bridge.

"Late shift," Bri asked.

"Yep," Nall said. "They were training personal all day. The Panther is about ready to be commissioned."

"Are they really going to proceed with the new battlestar class," Bri asked.

"Yes, once the dockyard at Centari One is finished its refit after the Daedalus then it will start on the new one," Troy said.

"I wonder what will happen next," Bri said.

No one knew what was going to happen next. All three knew that somewhere out there the Arbus were planning something, that much was probably the truth.

BSGBSG

"Captain, we have a contact at the edge of our scanning range," a voice said causing Renee to turn around and see what was going on.

"Any identification yet," Renee asked.

"Coming though the computer now captain," the scanner operator replied. "Identification says one Arbus patrol ship."

"Great," Renee said running her hands thought her now black hair. She had died it that color when the ship was docked at Earth last time as a dare by her crew. "Inform Earth command of what we have found."

"Yes ma'am," the communications officer said.

Renee was glad that something had been smoothed out. There was now a command center where all information went so that they could see everything that was going on. General Pakrov was in charge of the command center. The former Russian general was proving to be quite resourceful. Within moments the general's face appeared on the screen wanting to know what was going on.

"General, so far there is not much that I know. Our scanners have identified an Arbus warship, patrol class in this sector," Renee said.

"I'll inform Commander Ares as to what you've found. In the meantime track the ship and see where its going," the general said.

"Yes sir," Renee said. She relayed the order to her crew and prepared for what would be a tense couple of hours ahead.

BSGBSG

Rebecca had just gotten to her station when the call came in about an Arbus patrol ship approaching. The same thought went thought everyone's mind, another skirmish between the two forces.

Ares walked onto the bridge to see what the situation was. It had been a long day down on Earth telling them about everything that he had learned from Doctor Weaver. He was going to retire for the evening when this happened.

"General, what's the news," Ares said.

"The Fire Ant has encountered an Arbus patrol ship sector eight," Pakrov said.

Ares thought about that for a few seconds as he looked over at the map to see what the situation might be.

"They haven't come from that direction yet," Ares said. "I wonder if this is another attempt at ambush."

"Could be, what do you think," Pakrov asked.

"Beta One is not that far away. They might be looking for it," Ares said thinking about something for a few moments. "I think I'm going to do something strange," he said with a smile.

"Oh boy, why is it when we are talking about war and you smile like that it makes me nervous," Pakrov asked.

"They want to find a base, I think I'll let them," Ares said.

"You mean Beta One," Pakrov asked.

"Yes, I've wondered what exactly to do with it for a while, now I know. A staging area for a military buildup," he said with a smile. "Get me Commander Pratt."

Pratt's face was the next person to appear on the screen. "What's up commander?"

"We have an incoming Arbus ship headed towards Beta One," Ares said as the plan outlined in his head as to what they were going to do.

"The defenses there should be enough to handle one ship," Pratt replied not sure what Ares was doing.

"I know, but I want the Argo and Daedalus there as well," Ares said.

"That will leave Earth and Centari One's defenses severely weakened. Are you sure you want to do that," Pratt asked.

"Yes, I want them to think that Beta One is our fleet headquarters," Ares said.

"Divert the attention away from where it really is," Pratt said catching on.

"Right, a show of force there even against a small attack force might give us an advantage for now," Ares said. "Kinda shake things up a bit as well."

"What about the rest of the fleet," Pratt asked.

"Each battlestar is going to take one destroyer, and two patrol ships with them," Ares said. The rest of the fleet is going to be divided between Earth and Centari One."

"All right, I'll pick out who is going to be with me and head on over to Beta One," Pratt replied.

"I'll meet you there," Ares said, as the communication was disconnected. Ares then turned to Rebecca and had her inform the squadron leaders to meet him in the ready room.

BSGBSG

Bri and Troy walked into the ready room not sure what to expect at the moment. Looking around they noticed that a few of the other squadron leaders were also in the room.

"Troy, any idea as to what is going on," Jax said from where she was sitting.

"Nope, we were going to bed when we got the call," Troy replied.

Commander Ares stepped into the room and waited a few more minutes until the last of the squad leaders walked into the room.

"Thank you all for coming on so short a notice," Ares said first off. "I am sure that many of you are wondering what is going on so I'll be brief. The Argo is on its way to Beta One. There is an Arbus patrol craft on the way there."

The group looked at each other in a bit of a surprise. They all knew that Beta One was more than capable of handling a patrol class warship. There had to be more going on than just this right now.

"I have talked it over with the rest of the command staff and we are going to make the Arbus believe that Beta One is a staging area for our military. Using holograms and other such devices it will appear that there is a massive fleet there," Ares told the group. "The Argo and Daedalus will both attack the patrol ship, that is if nothing else is discovered."

"Sir, that sounds a bit dangerous in allowing the enemy to know where one of our bases is," Troy said.

"It may seem so but Beta One was never going to be anything more than a patrol outpost for the patrol ships," Ares told them. "It will also, hopefully, take some of the heat off of what we've seen is a search for Centari One."

"You are aware that the Arbus might attack Beta One in force once they think it's the main base of our fleet," Troy said.

"I am well aware of that, and in fact I hope that is what happens. If they are attacking Beta One it means that they are not attacking Earth or Centari One," Ares said to the group. "It is a bit of a risk but the reward is more than worth the risk."

Troy looked at Bri who just looked back at him. They were both hoping that the commander was right in this gamble.

"We will be meeting up with the Daedalus in five hours, in seven hours we will be attacking the Arbus ship. I want everyone to return to the battlestars alive so rest up. There will be a meeting in five hours to go over the battle plan and any new readings that the Fire Ant might have found," Ares told the group before dismissing them.

"Well, that is a bit different," Troy said to Bri as they walked along the corridor to their room.

"It is a bit exciting, it's like we're going on the offensive," Bri said.

"I guess you could be right about that," Troy said. "It is a bit of a combination more, a bit defensive and offensive at the same time. It's a passive defense of Earth and Centari One yet it offensive in that we're dictating where the action will happen."

"Well, I hope it works," Bri said as they walked to their quarters for a quick nap.

BSGBSG

"Commander Ares, Commander Pratt is on the line for you sir," Rebecca said.

Ares turned in his chair on the bridge of the Argo to see the screen. "Any news commander," Ares asked.

"Captain Renee reported that there is another Arbus patrol ship in the area. But only one is heading towards Beta One," Pratt said. Ares knew that the Daedalus had already arrived at the meeting place ahead of the Argo. The report of another patrol ship made him wonder.

"This could work out in our favor," Ares said. "If they are watching then they could see the buildup of the military at this base. It might give them the opinion that the base is more important than it is."

"True," Pratt said. "Or they are setting up a trap for our ships."

"Either way we need to be careful in this battle," Ares replied.

"I will," Pratt replied. He then signed off and Ares turned to see what else was going on.

The Argo was still about thirty minutes away from the battle. The Arbus ship was still on course to Beta One which was good news for the commander.

Ares watched as Troy entered the bridge and headed over to where he was.

"Captain, what brings you up here," Ares asked.

"Just making sure that nothing has changed before I head into the briefing with the other pilots," Troy replied.

"Well, we do know that there is at least one other Arbus patrol ship in the area. The Fire Ant picked it up not that long ago," Ares replied. "So we must be careful of an ambush."

"Is that the only news that's occurred," Troy asked.

"At the moment, yes," Ares rpelied.

"Good," Troy replied. "I'll let the others know."

Ares watched Troy walk off the bridge hoping that everything went well.

BSGBSG

Troy and Bri headed to their vipers knowing that battle was now only a few minutes away. They had briefed everyone about the possibility of additional Arbus warships that could spring a trap. All pilots said that they would be on the lookout for anything strange on their scanners. The Argo had met up with the Daedalus and both battlestars were now on their way to intercept the Arbus ship.

They looked into each other's eyes before breaking to head to their ships. The silent communication between the two of them was enough to convey the message of love and to return safely. The flight crews handed the pilots their helmets as the canopies closed sealing the vipers precious air inside.

Rebecca on the bridge quickly gave commands that they would be launching in a few moments. The Daedalus was in range of the patrol ship's scanner range now. Everyone was wondering what the patrol ship would do next.

The Arbus ship turned to leave the area which is what Ares thought the ship would do. He ordered all vipers to launch and destroy the ship. Pursue was the order of the day.

Rebecca relayed the message to the viper pilots and gave permission to launch.

Troy launched first followed by Bri as the new Viper Vs launched into space. The vipers would get their second test even though it was not against a large enemy yet. They were in space in less than a few seconds.

"All right green squadron form up and head out. Our target is the Arbus patrol ship. Our main mission is to destroy the weapons of the ship," Troy said as he armed his missiles on board the viper. This was the one thing that he had to learn all over again. It was a bit like flying the bombers but with the characteristics of the vipers.

Green squadron met up with Red squadron and the two squadrons of the Daedalus. All four headed to attack the one patrol ship. Troy had the feeling that this was definitely overkill but that's what the commander wanted. They were also under orders not to attack any other ship but this one unless they came in to attack.

Troy lined up the Arbus ship in his computer's targeting system. It automatically indicated one of the weapon systems. It was a point defense turret. The missile had a lock and he pressed the fire button and watched as a missile streaked away towards the Arbus ship. He could see several other missiles also heading to the Arbus ship. Within moments explosions rocked the patrol ship.

He then made a pass and fired his lasers on the Arbus ship. He breifly wondered of this fight was even fair. But he also realized that this was war and that the commander had a reason for the way he was fighting.

Troy could only hope that the mission was a success. He knew that there was at least one other Arbus patrol ship out there. He just hoped that it did not decide to attack as well. They would be able to detect where the attack would come to. It would level the playing field as if they had to they could retreat.

Troy was able to see the beginnings of the end for the Arbus ship. Its armor began to fail at critical points at the hulled had been compromised. Suddenly a flash indicated that the end was upon the ship. Another smaller flash then a large explosion occurred destroying the ship.

"Green leader to Battlestar Argo, patrol ship destroyed," Troy said.

"Confirmed green leader, return to base," Troy heard Rebecca's voice say.

"Green squad return to the Argo," Troy said as he turned the viper towards the battlestar.

BSGBSG

Ares sat on the bridge waiting to see if anything else was going to happen. Personally he was really waiting for the report to come inform Renee about the other Arbus ship. He hoped that his instincts were right about this and the other patrol ship left to report back to the Arbus homeworld. They still did not have an idea as to where that world was.

"Commander, incoming message from the Fire Ant," Rebecca said.

"Put it up here," Ares said hoping that this was the news that he was expecting. "What's going on out there Captain?"

"We were watching the Arbus patrol ship and it did just like you were hoping commander," Renee replied. "It left on a heading back into Arbus space."

"Good," Ares said. "Any idea if the patrol ship spotted you or not," Ares asked.

"No, it did not appear that the ship spotted us," Renee said. "That and there was no communications coming from the ship."

"All right, keep me informed," Ares said then stating that he wanted to talk with the commander of Beta One.

"Commander," Captain Gary Smith said of Beta One.

"Captain, how are the holo-projectors coming," Ares asked.

"We've finished one and are working on another one," Gary replied.

"Good, with that one I want a projection of a battlestar over one of the patrol ships," Ares said.

"All right, anything else commander," Gary asked.

"When the other projector comes on have it project a Tiger class cruiser," Ares said. "I want them to think that there is a significant force here. I will also be sending in a large number of vipers for protection against sneak attacks."

"We'll be ready commander," Gary replied.

"Good," Ares said as the communications was ended. Ares thought about everything that had gone on lately. There was definitely some truth to what Doctor Weaver had said to him. Now he just needed a bit more information to gain a secure upper hand over the Arbus.

BSGBSG

Bri walked into the pilot's rest area quickly looking for her husband. He was relaxing with Nall in one corner of the room. He noticed her approaching and made room for her to sit down next to him.

""I see you both survived," Nall said. "I'm glad, I don't think that Troy would appreciate me hitting on him."

"Well, you're not quite my type Nall," Troy said. "I'm fond of green eyes."

"I could wear contacts," Nall said. He was about to say more when Rebecca came walking into the room.

"Well I see they finally let you off duty," Bri said.

"Well, ten hours straight will wear on a person. I don't see how the commander does it," she said sitting down next to Nall. He put his arm around her before saying anything else.

"Tired," Nall asked Rebecca.

"Actually I'm hungry," she replied.

"You didn't eat yet," Bri asked.

"No, we were busy on the bridge to the point that we skipped the meal," Rebecca said. "I was wondering if anyone wanted to join me."

"I don't see why not," Bri said looking at Troy. "I know that he hasn't eaten in a while and I skipped a breakfast earlier."

"Well this will seem weird," Rebecca said. "Here I am hungry for a steak and you're wanting breakfast."

"Well, let's go then," Nall said. "Did you guys hear the latest news from the colonies?"

"Nope," Troy replied as they got up as well.

"The Galactica and Pacifica defeated a Cylon attack squadron trying to approach the Ccolonies. The Pacifica suffered damage but should be back in action in a couple of weeks," Nall said relaying the news that he had heard.

"I just wish that we could get the war with the Arbus over with," Troy said. "Once that is over we can begin to work towards fighting the Cylons."

"It would be a lot simpler that is for sure," Bri said. As they walked down the corridor towards the cafeteria.

BSGBSG

Renee watched from the captain's position the scanner as the remaining Arbus patrol ship was leaving the area. She had orders from Commander Ares to let the ship go if it headed off in a different direction. Now they were following at a distance to try and gain a position on where the Arbus Empire was. If they could gain some information about that then it would give them a better idea as to how to defend Earth and the two bases.

"Captain, the Arbus ship is changing directions," the scanner operator said.

"Heading towards us," Renee asked beginning to feel her heart rate pick up. The last thing she needed was to get involved in a battle.

"No, it's heading towards the nearby star system," the operator said.

"Scan the system and see if there is anything there," Renee said. There was a chance that there was a base in the system. If so it was closer than anyone had expected. "Let's see if we can gain any information by getting closer."

The Fire Ant continued towards the unknown system in an effort to find out what was in the system.

End of Attack Anew

Continued in Offensive


	47. Chapter 47: Offensive

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Offensive**

Ares sat on the bridge of the Argo waiting to hear back from Renee. He really was not sure how long it would take before they heard anything from the Fire Ant. Then he also had to figure out what he was going to do when they finally received the information. The biggest part of making a decision would be how far away the find was.

"Commander," Rebecca said gaining Ares' attention. "The Fire Ant is reporting in," she said to him.

"Put it up here," Ares replied. He only had to wait a second before the screen came to life showing Renee's face. "Did you find anything captain?"

"We found an Arbus base in sector eight," Renee said.

Ares glanced down at another monitor that showed the sectors quickly finding the sector in question. He regarded the sector in question and realized that it was not that far away.

"All right, get as much information as possible without endangering you ship or crew then head back here," Ares said. He needed information next to see how strongly defended the Arbus base was. "Get me General Pakrov on the line."

Rebecca replied with an acknowledgement then went to work. It did not take long for the general to appear on the screen for Ares.

"Ares, what's going on, its two in the morning," Pakrov said, obviously a bit annoyed at having to get up so early.

"Whoops," Ares said, glancing down and realizing the time where Pakrov was. "I didn't pay attention," Ares said.

"Well, I'm up so what did you want so I know if I have to head to the office or can go back to sleep," Pakrov said.

"We repelled the attack on Beta One," Ares said starting out with the obvious.

"Read that on the reports before I went to sleep," Pakrov replied. "I didn't go to sleep until I read that report."

"Well, I had the Fire Ant follow the other Arbus patrol ship in the area," Ares said, watching as Pakrov's eyebrows rose. "I know that wasn't in the report but I wanted to use this to cover the Colonial Bound."

"Ah, did the Fire Ant find anything," Pakrov asked.

"The report that just came back says that there is an Arbus base in sector eight," Ares said. "I'm waiting on more news then figure out what type of forces I will need to attack the base."

"Hmm," Pakrov said. He was obviously thinking about that now that he was wide awake. "I'm not sure about that after reading all the latest reports."

"Why not," Ares asked. He had thought that it would be a good idea. "We can show the Arbus that we can attack them and hurt them."

"That my friend can be a two edge sword," Pakrov said. "It does show them that we can hurt them. We also don't know how large their forces are. What if their military is currently engaged against another force? An attack like you are suggesting could refocus their attention on us a bit more."

"Hmm, hadn't thought of that," Ares said. It was true that the Arbus had an empire but no one knew how large it was. "Then we wait to see how large the base is then."

"All right, I'm going to the office to see if I can find anything else out from the reports that came from the Orion," Pakrov said. With that he ended the conversation as Ares sat back in his chair. He wanted to strike back but Pakrov had brought up a good point. They needed to know more about the Arbus Empire.

BSGBSG

Gunther walked onto the bridge of the Colonial Bound heading straight to the scanners. He knew that they were getting close to where they might start encountering either a Cylon ship or a Colonial ship. He was not sure what type of reception that he would receive.

"Anything on the scanners," Gunther asked.

"Aye laddie, you were not kidding when ye said we might be encountering some ships," Scott said.

Gunther looked down at the scanner which was on long-range. He could see some ships on the edge of the scanner. The ships at the moment were too far away to be identified though.

"Put us on a course here," Gunther said. It would bring the ship close to the system where they need ed to go but now he had to find a way to make contact with the Pacifica. The Pegasus and Commander Cain had left along with the Fifth Fleet. "Also tune into this frequency and let me know if anything comes in."

"Ah will Gunther," Scott said. This was the part of the mission that they were here for. Contact with another race, even though it was a human race it was still a bit strange to him.

The Colonial Bound headed to a far side moon where they would wait to see what their next move would be. They had received the latest news that the Galactica and Pacifica had stopped a Cylon attack. Many Earthers, who had never been outside their own system, were now a bit more cautious. Knowing that another colony of humans was out there was one thing, but finally arriving there was quite another. They were now closer to another enemy of the human race than ever before. It all seemed a bit strange to them.

BSGBSG

Jax walked down the corridor of the Argo wondering what the next step was going to be in the war against the Arbus. She had heard that they now had an idea as to where one of the Arbus' bases was. The next step was to decide if they wanted to attack the base.

The last she had heard was that Commander Ares was in the process of organizing an attack fleet to begin an offensive against the Arbus.

"Jax, thought you were asleep," a voice said behind her. Jax looked behind her and spotted Troy walking down the corridor as well.

"Hmm, I could ask the same thing about you as well" Jax replied to Troy.

"We've got patrol duty in an hour," Troy replied.

"Oh, of course, you going with Bri I assume," Jax half asked, half stated. She knew Bri rarely went on patrol with Troy. Lately she was not sure because of recent promotions. Troy was not the captain of both squadrons on the Argo and Bri was promoted to leader of Green squadron.

"Yeah, I need to keep my flying skill up with the other recruits," Troy said with a chuckle.

"You've only just been promoted for Kobal sakes Troy," Jax said with a roll of her eyes.

"I guess flying with Bri has helped out a bit," Troy said.

"Only the best pilot in the fleet," Jax said. "Annoys some of the other pilots but she's pretty humble about it."

"Not with me," Troy said. "I thought her head would get so big that she would not be able to walk through the doors around here."

Jax laughed at that description of Bri. "I remember when she was challenged by a group of new recruits from Earth. They had some idea that woman could not fly as good as the men."

"Oh yeah, I remember feeling sorry for those guys," Troy said. "But she made a point, it was her best class of recruits ever. In fact I think one of them is now a squad leader of one of the new squadrons of the Daedalus."

Troy's attention was caught by Bri walking into the room. She walked straight to where they were. He wondered what was up this time.

"Just got word," she said as she sat down. "We're headed on the offensive."

BSGBSG

Ares sat in his office listening to President Harvey, General Pakrov and a couple of others. Pratt was also listening in on the call as the political officials talked about how they did not want the two battlestars to leave the area on some offensive mission.

"I don't like it," one of the senator said. Ares remembered that the senator's name was Loius Marchament.

"It's not a debate Mr. Marchament," Ares said. He was getting fed up with the bickering about wither or not he could go on the offensive.

"It leaves Earth defenseless and what if you fail," Louis said.

"There is a lot more at stake here than just Earth senator," Ares said. He wondered if he should just come out into the open about the Colonies and the Cylons. However there was the fact that there were still clones among the population and people might think that he and his crew were clones.

"Of course, your two bases, Centari One and Beta One how could I forget them," Louis said.

"And if it was not for Centari One Earth would still be under Arbus control and whatever their plan was," Ares said finally.

"Yes, well I'm still trying to figure out how such technology came about," Louis said. "I will find out commander."

"Now Senator Marchament," President Harvey said finally stepping into the conversation. "Earth is not defenseless. We have several full squadrons of vipers and one full squadron of the new vipers as well. Plus the Tiger will be here. I would say that we are adequately protected just in case."

"You would go with him Mr. President," Louis said before finally backing down. "All right, I won't stand in your way commander."

With that Louis hung up on the conversation.

"Nice guy, now I remember why I didn't go into politics," Pakrov said.

"Hey, we're not all bad," Harvey said.

"Well, you know more than most Mr. President," Ares said. "I should begin preparations for the attack. Once it is over I'll head straight back. They might head here for retaliation instead of Earth. If they think that our military is stationed somewhere else it just might draw their fire away. I also have a hologram of the Argo ready to go in a little bit."

"Well that might give the illusion that there is more protecting us than normal," Harvey said. "Good luck commander."

"Thanks," Ares said. Now all that was left was the attack. Ares was going for a simple straight forward attack. He hoped that the reports from the Fire Ant were accurate.

BSGBSG

Pratt walked along the bridge of the Daedalius waiting to hear from Ares to know when they were going to be heading to attack. The two battlestars and four patrol ships were all not far from the Arbus base. The Fire Ant had joined the fleet and Renee had shuttled over to the Argo to meet with Ares.

"Commander, everyone reports ready for combat," his second in command, John said.

"Good," Pratt replied. It was good to hear that the ship was ready for combat still. They had not taken any damage in the last battle. Of course the battle had been against one patrol ship. Not much of an opponent for two battlestars though.

"Commander Ares on the line for you," John said.

Pratt returned to the command chair to see Ares face on the screen. "Commander, what's the news," Pratt asked.

"Renee has told me that there are five ships in the area, three by the base and two patrolling the outer area of the system," Ares said. "We can make it a surprise attack quite easy that is for sure."

"Is that wise," Pratt asked.

"Should not be that hard, one attack ship and four patrol ships. I want to send our patrol ships to attack the two Arbus patrol ships while the Daedalius and Argo attack the base," Ares said. "We should be able to achieve surprise especially if we launch green squadron ahead of time."

Pratt nodded his head at the plan. Green squad was armed with the latest vipers that were also coated with the S-metal. It would give them an edge as they could launch a squad without giving away their position.

"All right, when do you want to attack," Pratt asked.

"Now," Ares said. "The quicker we do this the better our information is. I don't want to risk being discovered or having another Arbus ship appear."

Pratt agreed with him. The two battlestars engines powered up and moved towards the Arbus base.

BSGBSG

Troy sat quietly as the pilots waited for the alarm to sound that would indicate that the attack was about to begin. Everyone knew that they were on route to the Arbus base. Troy figured that they had to be getting close to the Arbus base based on the travel time.

He was about to say something to Bri sitting next to him when the alarm sounded.

"All right everyone, this is it, let's go," Troy said as all the pilots raced to their vipers.

Green squadron was going to be the first group to launch because they had a layer of S-metal coating on their vipers. Reaching the viper Troy stood there looking at the black sleek fighter. It still held many of the same characteristics that the viper had but with more armament and speed.

"Be careful," he said to Bri who replied the same. He watched as she walked up to her viper with a confident swagger in her walk.

Troy jumped up into his viper while the crew handed him his helmet. He put that on while the canopy was closing. He ran though the start up sequence for the three engines then waited to hear Rebecca give him the go ahead to launch.

"Green squad, launch when ready," Rebecca said.

"Copy Command, green squad, launch," he heard Bri's voice say. He almost said it when he remembered that it was Bri's responsibility now. He was in command of both squadrons of the Argo.

He pushed his thruster button feeling the acceleration g-forces push him into his seat. Then it was over and he was into space. Troy quickly formed up with Bri as the squadron raced to the Arbus base. They were to attack the ships before they could mount a defense.

Attack scanners were flipped on as targets were acquired. It would be the first battle on the offensive against this enemy.

BSGBSG

Ares stood on the bridge of the Argo listening as the reports came into the bridge. Green squadron had been launched as the attack was now in progress.

"Any response from the base yet," Ares asked.

"Nothing yet," Rebecca said. She kept a close eye on her scanner for anything that was a bit unusual. So far there was not a twitch from the Arbus base or ships. The two patrol ships had not divieated from their course.

The feeling on the bridge was like any other battle, tense. Ares however was calm in the face of the battle. He knew that he had to be for the rest of his crew. That was something he had learned from Commander Brakkus while he was on the Pacifica. If he was calm then it extended to the rest of the crew. That allowed such things as fear to not be a factor for the battle.

"Commander, Green squadron has engaged," Rebecca said.

"Launch red squadron, tell Daedalius to launch her vipers as well," Ares said.

The battle was now engaged. The two battlestars were now in combat mode and heading straight for the Arbus base.

"Arbus base launching fighters," Rebecca said.

"Target the base first," Ares said. He did not want to take any chances that the base might have more advanced weapons than the ships did. He knew that the battlestars could survive a while against the weapons of the Attack class Arbus ship.

There was still little reaction coming from the Arbus base at the moment. The two battlestars began their attacks firing their turbolasers.

"Patrol ships are turning this way commander," Rebecca said. "Fire Ant and Hunter are intercepting."

Ares grunted that he heard what Rebecca said. He was concentrating on the Arbus base. Pratt was on the screen keeping him up to date with what was going on aboard the Daedalius. Right now the Daedalius was coming in on a bit different attack vector than the Argo.

"Pratt, concentrate on the attack ship," Ares said.

Pratt replied with an affirmative and the two battlestars continued their attack. The Arbus forces finally began to return fire against the two battlestars.

"Hit, deck five sections three through five, repair crews on their way," David the current second in command said.

"Fire," Ares asked.

"None reported yet," David replied.

Ares accepted the news and would wait until conformation from the repair crews to be on the scene. He really was not that worried, it was a small area and should be repaired quickly. He just hoped that the battle was over quickly as well.

BSGBSG

Troy formed up with Bri as together they made another attack run on the Arbus base. There were a few Arbus fighters that were heading out but Red squad was attacking them. He looked up to see what Bri was concentrating on this time.

On the base was a small turret on top of what appeared to be a bridge area. He was not quite sure is she was targeting the turret or the bridge structure. He decided that he would target the turret anyways. He watched as she fired two shots, and one missile at the area. One went to the turret and the other to the bridge. The missile flew straight to the turret. Seeing that Troy quickly adjusted to aim for the bridge looking structure. Two explosions erupted on the base as the turret was destroyed along with the bridge structure.

"Nice shot," Troy said to her as they made a half turn to look for another target.

"Thanks," Bri replied. "Two enemy fighters are heading our way," she informed him. They both turned to meet the enemy. Green lasers streaked by them as the fighters attacked. Bri pulled off a maneuver that Troy knew he could not pull off and instead went for a basic evasion.

Bri ended her tricky evasion by ending up behind the enemy fighter. Troy was sure that the pilot was wondering how she had done that. The Arbus pilot did not have much time to think about that as Bri made quick work of the fighter. Troy lined up the other fighter which made the mistake of trying to help out its buddy. A quick blast and the enemy fighter was destroyed as well.

"Nice," they heard Nall say. "That was some fancy flying Bri."

"Yeah, something I've been working on, just glad it worked," Bri replied.

"Well you'll have to show me that one," Jax said.

"I don't know if the simulators can do this but we'll try," Bri said.

Troy looked down at his scanner to see how much damage the Arbus base had. The scanner showed multiple hits on the base's outer skin. There also seemed to be several internal fires going on. The base would not be able to handle much more damage.

"Is anyone picking up anything on their communicators, like a surrender or anything," Troy asked. He was silently hoping that they might surrender. It was a long shot but one that he kept hoping to hear.

"Power build up in the base," Nall replied. "Looks like a power overload."

"Frack," Troy replied as they watched the base explode a few seconds later. "What's the status on the attack ship?"

"It's still fighting but the other two patrol ships are trying to escape," Jax replied from where she was.

"Commander Ares, any orders," Troy asked not wanting to go over the commander in ordering a pursuit of the patrol ships just yet.

"I think you know what I want," Ares said. "Go after the patrol ships and help out the Fire Ant and Hunter."

"Understood," Troy replied relaying the orders to the rest of the squadrons. He kept the Daedalius' squadrons with the battlestars to attack any fighters that were remaining. That left one squadron for each patrol ship. He would have split Green squad up if any of them had any missiles left but most of them were launched attacking the base. The remaining missiles were launched at the attack class ship.

Bri and green squad headed to help out the Fire Ant. The patrol ship was making its way out of the system but the fighters were catching up rather quickly.

"Target engines first," Bri said to the squadron. If the ship could be slowed down it would give them a better opportunity to destroy the ship.

The vipers quickly made the trip to where the enemy patrol ships were. They were all riding their turbos to get there faster. Once in range each pilot began their attack on their targets.

Once the vipers got involved the battle did not last much longer. The two patrol ships were quickly destroyed. The battlestars recovered the remaining vipers. Troy was one of the last ones to land as others that were damaged were first to land.

BSGBSG

"All vipers have been recovered," Rebecca said to Commander Ares on the bridge of the Argo. There was still a lot to do and she was working to complete her tasks.

"Good," Ares said turning to look at Pratt on the screen. "What about the Daedalius?"

"We'll be done in a few moments," Pratt replied. "I have nothing on the long-range scanners either."

"We don't either but I'm having the Fire ant and Hunter take a brief look around anyways," Ares replied. "I don't want to be caught looking the wrong way."

"What's the plan once all the vipers on back on board," Pratt asked.

"I'm heading back to Beta One," Ares said. "From there we will split up and head back to Earth and Centari One."

"All right," Pratt replied they ended the communication.

Ares then waited until General Pakrov's face appeared on the screen. The general would want to know the results of the attack. Ares knew that the Russian was worried about having both battlestars away from Earth.

"Commander, I take it that everything went well," Pakrov asked.

"Yes, there were the normal loses with the viper squadrons but minimal damage to either battlestar," Ares told him knowing that there were probably others that were listening in on the conversation that they were having.

"What are the loses," Pakrov asked.

"Not sure yet, but the Argo lost sixteen vipers. The Daedalius I have not received any report on just yet," Ares told them.

"Not bad, replaceable loses," Pakrov said with a nod of his head. It was something that he was glad to hear. "I was a bit worried about the attack, if you failed we did not have much of anything to protect ourselves."

"I know, but something about this war bothers me," Ares said. "The Arbus do not seem to move quickly to anything. Either it is their nature or they are planning something."

"Then we should be on our guard," Pakrov replied.

"Yes," Ares said.

"We will keep our patrols up," Pakrov said. "I'll see you when you get back."

With that the communications ended and Ares turned back around to his bridge. Everyone was working hard at their jobs. He decided that it was time to head to his office. There were reports that were going to be coming in that he would need to read.

"I am headed to my office, so if anything comes up let me know," Ares told David and went to his office.

BSGBSG

"Well general," Louis Marchment said from where he was sitting in the general's office. "It seems that it worked out this time, but next time we might not get as lucky."

"I have every faith in Commander Ares," Pakrov replied. He was not sure why the senator was there in the first place.

"Perhaps general, but my main concern is the welfare of the people of this planet," Louis said to him. "For being under your command this Ares doesn't take orders very well."

"Commander Ares is the overall commander of the Earth military senator. I am a liaison to the council, not a commander of a ship," Pakrov said.

"Interesting," Louis said rubbing his chin as he spoke. "A commander is leader of the fleet. I thought it was generally an Admiral or Grand Admiral or General or something like that. A commander seems to be a bit low ranking to me."

"When it comes to space new rules and guidelines needed to be written," Pakrov replied. He was not sure what the he liked this line of thought by the senator.

"Oh yes, I'm sure about that. Well, good-day to you general," Louis said. He got up and walked out of the office.

End of Offensive

Continued in Homecomings and Disappointments


	48. Chapter 48: Homecomings and Disappointme

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Homecomings and Disappointments**

"Commander," the scanner operator said getting the commander's attention.

"What is it," the commander asked walking over to where the scanner operator was.

"I'm picking up a strange reading on the scanners. It appears and disappears almost as if the scanner cannot get a fix on whatever is out there," the scanner operator said.

"Interesting," the man replied. "Helm, take us in that direction and see if we can find out what is there," the commander said.

The battlestar turned heading toward what was appearing on the scanner.

"Commander, incoming message," the communications officer said with a bit of shock in his voice.

"Put it up here," the commander replied. He waited a bit until a face appeared. It was one that he was not sure that he recognized.

"Commander Backas," the man said. "I'm Captain Gunther and there is much to discuss, I am under the command of Commander Ares."

Backus almost fainted a bit when he heard what the man had said. He quickly thought about what was going on and what he needed to do. "Tell the hanger to prepare to receive a top-secret shuttle. What happens in the next couple of centons will remain secret is that understood," he said to his bridge crew.

There were several people nodding their heads but no one understood what was going on. They would have to wait to find out.

BSGBSG

Nall woke up early in the morning to the sound of his wife in the bathroom. He was getting concerned by this recent behavior. She had been sick in the morning now for the third day in a row. He walked over to the door and waited a few seconds until she finally stopped. He walked into the small bathroom with the intention of confronting his wife to see the doctor about what was going on.

"Are you feeling better," Nall asked Rebecca.

"I'm not sure," Rebecca replied. "Today was the worst."

"I think you should see the doctor," Nall said.

"For what," Rebecca said. She hated doctors with a passion and now Nall was trying to talk to her into going to see one for a seventy-two hour bug. "It's just a bug, I'll be fine."

"You said yesterday that it was just a forty-two hour bug, and the day before that a twenty-four hour one. What is it this time, a seventy-two hour bug? Please, do this for me," Nall asked placing his arm around her. "I care about you and hate to see you sick."

Rebecca thought about it for a few seconds as she listened to what he said. She had the feeling that Nall was probably right, but it did not make her happy at all.

"All right, I'll go to the doctor today," Rebecca said.

"Good," Nall replied. They both got ready for their day heading to the cafeteria to grab something to eat. Nall had a day that was full of patrols with newbies who were going to be taking their first patrol. He would wait to talk with Troy about what the latest development was on the war.

Troy since being promoted had spent more time on the bridge lately than he had in the viper or with the pilots. Nall thought that it was a good thing that his wife was a pilot. Troy might not know what was going on otherwise.

Nall and Rebecca walked out to head to the cafeteria so that they could begin their day.

BSGBSG

Ares sat at his desk listening to the current patrol status. Pratt was also there along with Troy in his office while General Pakrov and President Harvey were listening in down on Earth. Captain Renee was giving the details of the patrols. He had recently promoted her to head of the patrol groups as the fleet now had an additional two patrol ships bringing the total to twelve.

"So everything so far is quiet," Ares asked Renee.

"So far, I'm keeping four ships on constant patrol with four on duty at the local bases and the remaining four resting rotating every three weeks," Renee said.

"Sounds good," Ares said. A rotational patrol would keep everyone more alert. It would also help with defenses as the patrols would not deplete any ship power from the bases.

"Thank you Renee, Peter, anything from your end," Ares asked. Peter had recently been promoted to the captain of Centari One.

"We are currently ahead of schedule with the Agamemnon battlestar," Peter said, referring to the new class of battlestars. The first one was to be called Agamemnon.

"Good news, when do they expect people to begin coming aboard to," Ares asked.

"In another couple of months," Peter replied.

"Good, I think we can hold until then," Ares said.

"Any news from the damaged ships," Harvey asked.

"The Argo has been repaired already and the Daedalius is scheduled for a small upgrade to her computers already," Ares said. The Argo had that done already when they repaired the damage.

"What about the Panther," Harvey asked.

"It's fully operational and just completed its trails," Ares said.

"It will be joining the Daedalius to form the second fleet," Pratt said.

"I take it that the second fleet will be responsible for the defense of Centari One," Harvey asked having read some of the reports.

"Yes," Ares replied.

"What about the viper squads," Pakrov asked.

"We're well ahead of projected needs for now. We also have more pilots than we have vipers," Troy replied from where he was sitting.

"Very good Commander Ares," Harvey said. "I'm glad that things seem to be going well, but I'm hesitant to say that."

"I understand," Ares said. "If you say that then we'll get some really bad news."

"Exactly," Harvey said. "It's been a couple of years since the Arbus attack on Earth, but I can already hear the rumblings of the intellectual elite saying that we should talk to them."

"Believe me, we've tried a few times," Ares said, remembering the first couple of times that he had fought the Arbus. "They self destruct their ships so that we have no idea how to talk to them."

"I know," Harvey replied. "I would still like you to try."

"You don't have to try to sell us on that one. The quicker we get done with this war the quicker we can help out the Colonies," Ares said.

"Any news from the Colonial Bound," Pakrov asked.

"Nothing yet," Ares said. "It should arrive at the colonies soon though. I don't know how long it will take to make contact with someone Gunther can trust."

"All right," Pakrov replied. "I was just wondering."

"Otherwise the news coming from the Colonies is not that bad yet. The Fifth fleet headed out to Gamoray to help out an ally and with Commander Cain it should be quite a fight," Ares said.

The meeting wrapped up a short while later leaving Pratt, Troy and Ares in the room.

"Well, I better get back over to the Daedalius," Pratt said. "We're running some drill with the Panther to get the two ships working together well."

"Keep mu updated," Ares asked receiving a nod from Pratt.

"Well, anything else that I need to know about," Ares asked.

"Nope, just the normal stuff," Troy replied. "I have a few things to finish up today before the new class begins."

"All right," Ares said. He watched as Troy got up and walked out. Things were going well at the moment. The war with the Arbus was going well but he wondered at their military might, how large was their military? Had he seen the most powerful warships that the Arbus could throw at them. There were just too many questions that he did not have answers to.

BSGBSG

Commander Backus waited on the landing bay for the shuttle to land. Everything was kept secret from most of the people. He was not sure what type of information to expect. He watched as the shuttle landed. The marking were a bit different than what he was used to. The door opened and Gunther walked out of the shuttle along with another man. This one seemed to be older with a weathered face that was not usually encountered by anyone on the colonies.

"Commander Backus," Gunther said walking up to the man and greeting him.

"Captain Gunther," Backus replied. He then looked to see the other man.

"Ah'm Captain Scott," the man said to Brackus.

"Let's talk in private," Gunther suggested. They walked to the elevator and then to Backus' private office.

"Now, what's going on," Backus said.

"We're the exhibition from Earth," Gunther said.

"The Argo found it," Backus asked amazed by what he had just been told.

"Yes," Gunther replied. "But there is much more I need to tell you."

"Can we expect help," Backus asked, before he fully understood what Gunther had just said. "Why is it that I don't like what you just said?"

"Earth is under attack from a race calling themselves the Arbus," Scott said. "If not for the Argo, Earth would've been destroyed."

Backus slumped back into his chair. It was a possibility that he and Cain had discussed but not really figured on.

"Do I want to know everything," Backus asked.

"You should, and my ship also will require some supplies for the return trip," Gunther said.

Backus nodded his head in understanding. "How is Commander Ares."

"Thriving," Gunther said.

"Aye, he's living up to his name," Scott said, then saw the strange look on Backus' face. "On Earth the names Ares is an ancient god of war."

Backus chuckled at that thought. "Found his niche did he," he said just imagining his onetime second in command's face when he was told that. "Now what do you mean that Earth is at war with a race called the Arbus?"

"We made contact with Earth about four yehrens ago," Gunther said. "After introducing ourselves to a few of their members of one of the governments, we began to build a base. Earth was not quite as advanced as we had hoped. They were abandoning their space explorations when we arrived."

"That does not sound good," Backus said.

"Well, we learned later it was all a plot by the Arbus. They had placed clones into many high-ranking spots in both the government and military. They used this for when they attacked to spread confusion among any military counter strikes," Gunther said.

"Interesting strategy," Backus said thinking about that. "How does the fight go then?"

"When we left the second battlestar, Daedalus, was almost completed, the gunstar Tiger was complete along with about a dozen patrol ships and four destroyer class ships. A new designed battlestar was being finalized. Another Tiger ship and several smaller craft were also under construction. One large multi-purpose cargo ship had been completed as well as a tanker ship. A class of support ships were being designed when we left, that was almost nine months ago," Gunther said.

"I see, what about the reason why our scanners did not pick you up until you were almost on top of us," Backus asked.

"The new S-metal," Gunther replied. "It is a metal we encountered by a strange race we helped out on the way to Earth. It allows the ship to be harder to see and pick up on scans, but it is weaker than normal armor," Gunther replied.

"It seems like a lot that I need to know," Backus said sitting back to listen to the rest of what Gunther had to say.

BSGBSG

Bri glanced at the mirror one more time. She looked down once more to confirm what the reading was. It was not what she was hoping for that was for sure. She put the object down and quietly walked out of the bathroom. She got dressed knowing that Troy had already left to meet with Ares on a situational update.

"Damn," she muttered not able to get the thought out of her head. She made her way down the flight deck to where her trainees were waiting. Taking a deep breath she entered the room. She would work quickly today as she really did not feel like working today.

A thought came to her thinking that perhaps she should see a doctor about this. With her mind made up she felt she had a plan of attack for the day. Now all she had to do was get through it.

BSGBSG

Doctor Gravin was waiting in the medlab going over medical reports. It was a slow day, nothing unusual to report as he worked though the day. He had a few appointments later on in the day but nothing critical. He glanced up as the door opened. He noticed that Captain Gabrielle was standing there with an unsure look on her face. He frowned knowing that she hated medlab. With a smile he walked over to her.

"Hello captain, what can I do for you," he said smiling hoping to put the smaller woman at ease.

"I, well, I think I need some help," Bri said. She quickly explained everything that had gone on. She then included this morning not sure why she was there.

"Well," Gravin said in a calm voice. "Perhaps there is another reason for this. Some things take time, others happen rather quickly. Would you like to run a few tests? I will be discrete about everything."

Bri hesitated for a few moments as she thought it over. She knew in her heart that it was to be the right move but she was not sure that she could go through with it. She took a deep breath before answering him.

"Yes," she finally said.

"This way," the doctor said gently leading Bri on over to the examination table.

BSGBSG

"Well, I see that quite a lot has happened to the Argo on its journey. I am sad to hear that we are not going to be able to receive any help from that area. The council is still debating about a new battlestar. At this rate I fear that such construction will be too late. We lost one more since you left," Backus said.

"Yes, we heard, and the Pegasus and the fifth fleet have now gone to help out a ally," Gunther said.

"I don't like this," Backus said remembering something from before the Argo left. Troy had giving him a warning that the Pacifica would be destroyed. "I wish that you could return with a fleet soon."

"So do I commander," Gunther replied. "Commander Ares is not sure when we will be able to sent help."

"I understand," Backus replied. He knew that war would not be tamed no matter the plan. Things had a way of happening to twist even the most thought out plan and make it look like a disaster. "I hope that we can get regular updates."

"We'll try, but it might be hard commander," Gunther replied. "I just hope that everything is going all right."

"Do they remember the colonies at all," Backus finally asked.

"Unfortunately no," Gunther replied. "It appears that all information regarding that has been destroyed."

"Will they help us," Backus asked.

"I don't know, but we're not saying much about that. Right now the effort is on the Arbus and defeating them," Gunther replied. "If they are not defeated then the entire plan fails."

"I see," Backus said.

BSGBSG

"Well," the doctor said looking at his patient. "The test doesn't lie."

"You mean, I am," the patient said not sure about what the doctor had just said.

"Yes," Gravin replied. "You are pregnant."

"Oh boy," the patient said. She seemed to be thinking about what he said along with everything else.

"Here is a list of when I want to see you again to make sure that everything is going well. Also there is a list of things that you might experience or crave that you might not understand. That will allow you to know if it is normal or something that you need to see me about," Gravin said.

"Yes doctor," the patient said. She was not sure if she should be happy or upset about this.

"Well, congratulations dear," Gravin said. "Now be sure to rest and get enough to eat. I want to see a happy healthy baby in eight months."

"Yes sir," the patient replied then walked out of medlab.

BSGBSG

Backus sat back thinking about what had happened recently. The Argo had made contact with Earth and legendary thirteenth tribe. Now that he had that information he wondered what he should do about that. He quickly relayed a message to the Pegasus and Commander Cain. Cain did not take long in replying to his message.

"Commander Backus, what can I do for you," Cain asked.

"I need to talk to you, about the Argo," Backus said. He did not say the Argo's name too loudly in case anyone was listening to their conversation.

"Hold on a second," Cain said. There was a slight pause before he came back. "All right, now what's this about the Argo."

"They've made contact with us," Backus said. "Captain Gunther from the Argo has returned."

"Did they bring reinforcements, what are the numbers they brought," Cain said suddenly excited.

"Just one scout ship Cain," Backus said. "There is more."

"Then tell me you war daggit," Cain said. Backus could see the wheels turning in the brilliant mind that made Cain a military genius.

"The Argo made contact, but it seems that Earth is involved in a war of their own. In fact if the Argo had not shown up the Earth would have been destroyed. The problem is they do not have the forces to spare to us for help," Backus said.

"Felbercarp," Cain said. "We need that help and soon."

"I know," Backus replied. They were down to six battlestars. Five were protecting the colonies while the Pegasus was out helping their neighbor against the Cylons.

"Those fools on the council just don't understand that if we don't replenish our war loses then we will lose the war with the Cylons," Cain said. His words rang true with Backus. He knew that things were not going well in the war.

"That's an understatement. I sometimes wonder what they are thinking," Backus said.

"What else did Commander Ares say," Cain asked.

"A race calling themselves the Arbus attacked Earth about a yahren after the Argo arrived. With the help of the Argo the invasion was stopped. However the Arbus seem to be continuing to attack Earth. Not a whole lot is known about why they were attacking Earth," Backus said.

"Did Ares say when they might be able to send help our way," Cain asked.

"He did not know. Captain Gunther said that they do not even know the strength of the Arbus fleet. They do not allow themselves to be captured," Backus said.

"A cunning enemy, could be a while," Cain said. He got a look on his face as he thought it though. "Well, there is not much we can do now. Perhaps if Commander Ares could talk with this Arbus race they might understand the threat of the Cylons."

"He's probably thought of that already," Backus replied. "But if the other race is not talking there is little you can do."

"I guess we wait," Cain said.

BSGBSG

Nall walked into his quarters only to find Rebecca there already. He was not expecting to see her back so soon. She was happy about something.

"So what are you grinning about," Nall asked her.

"I have some news for you, at least news that I'm happy about," Rebecca said. Nall could see that she was almost bouncing with happiness. He wondered what she was going to say to him.

"I guess you are going to make me wait for a while until you tell me what is going on," Nall asked.

"No, but I want you to guess," Rebecca said with a smile.

"All right, we are going on another honeymoon," Nall said.

"Nope," Rebecca replied.

"Bri is joining us," Nall said.

"Don't be a goof," Rebecca said giving his arm a slight slap.

"I don't know, I'm not good at these games," Nall said.

"I'm pregnant," Rebecca finally said.

Nall was stunned by what Rebecca had just said. He thought that he heard her correctly but his mind suddenly refused to work properly. His jaw opened and closed a few times before finally he managed to squeak out a reply.

"Pregnant?"

"Yep, that's what doctor Gravin said," Rebecca told him.

"I'm going to be a daddy," Nall said. Rebecca nodded her head then watched as Nall's eye rolled back as he fell to the ground.

"Well, that's not quite the reaction I was expecting," Rebecca said to the prone body on the ground.

BSGBSG

Troy walked into his quarters knowing that something was wrong right away. He didn't see Bri like normal sitting at the small table working on the reports. He walked in further noticing her lying on the bed. He noticed right away something had happened. He walked over to her sitting down on the bed hoping for the best.

BSGBSG

Nall awoke a short time later to find Rebecca's twinkling eyes looking down at him. He then remembered the conversation that they had just a few moments ago.

"I see you're awake again. Much longer and I would have called on Doctor Gravin to see if you were all right," Rebecca said.

"Ah, no, I'm fine, just a shock to hear that," Nall replied. "I'm just not sure if I'm ready to be a daddy."

"You've got eight months," Rebecca told him.

"A daddy," Nall said sitting down on the bed. He was trying to wrap his mind around the concept of such a thing. He tried to imagine himself hodling a baby in his hands, then imagining the baby to be his. It was a hard thing to do for him.

"Yes, and I'm going to be a mommy," Rebecca said.

A smile came to his lips as he thought about it then disappeared. "You're not disappointed are you?"

"Don't be a goof," Rebecca said sitting down next to him. "Of course I am, but why don't we get something to eat, I'm hungry."

BSGBSG

Nall and Rebecca entered the cafeteria together. Nall still with a large grin on his face. He spotted Troy and Bri over at one side of the room. They appeared to be deep in conversation. He quickly detoured over to where they were. He wanted his friends to be the first to know.

"Hey Nall, you look cheerful today," Troy said.

"I have some wonderful news that I wanted you to know first," Nall said, with Rebecca right beside him.

"Whatever it is you look quite happy about it," Troy said.

"Oh yeah," Nall said picking up Rebecca's hand.

"We just found out, I'm expecting," Rebecca said with a smile.

What they were not expecting was for Bri to start crying. She then ran from the cafeteria leaving Nall and Rebecca confused.

"That's great," Troy said. "I wish that you had told us a bit later though."

Nall was now really confused by the actions. He could see that Troy was indeed conflicted by what he had just been told. All Nall could do was wait to see what Troy would say.

"We've been trying the past year to have a child. This morning Bri went to the doctor when we had not succeeded. She found out that she cannot have children. It seems that when the Cylons attacked her home leaving her an orphan the wounds she suffered injured her in a way the doctor then did not tell her about," Troy told them.

"Oh God, I'm sorry Troy," Rebecca said concerned about her friend. "Perhaps I should go talk to her."

"No, I will," Nall said. "She's my family, or at least I consider her my sister. I'll go."

"All right," Troy said. "I am happy for you though."

BSGBSG

Nall knocked on the door to the apartment. When the door did not open he used the key that Troy had given him. He was not sure what to expect.

"Go away," Bri said from the bed.

"Not until we talk," Nall replied. He walked up to the bed sitting down on the side.

"Nothing to talk about," Bri said.

"There is," Nall said. "Troy told us, I'm sorry."

"Why, that the Cylons have fracked up my life. I have nothing now," Bri said.

"I don't consider you nothing, and I'm sure that Troy and Rebecca don't," Nall said. "Plus there is the consideration that if anything happens to me and Rebecca I want you two to raise him, or her."

Bri was not sure what to say about that.

"I do want you to know that if we had known we would have waited to say anything," Nall said. "You know me."

"I know, I guess I'm just emotional right now, must be close to cycling or something," Bri said.

"No, you're disappointed, hurt, and angry, I understand," Nall said.

"Thanks," Bri said. "Though it might take me a while to get over this."

"And I'll still be your friend," Nall said.

End of Homecomings and Disappointments

Continued in Return


	49. Chapter 49: Return

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Return**

Troy waited on the deck of the Argo for his wife. Her viper was going to be landing after more training with the new recruits. It was a never ending flow of new people. He was waiting for the latest reports on the recruits before placing them somewhere in the fleet. He had been finally moved up to captain of all fighter squadrons just last month. That was when Commander Ares had realized that he needed a person to oversee all fighter squadrons.

General Pakrov basically said that Troy was now the leader of the air wing of Earth's space forces. Pakrov had a way of making someone's job seem simplistic yet complex at the same time. He placed himself as head commander of the ground forces on the warships and security personal of the stations. He also saw Commander Ares as the person who was in charge of the fleet. Together they all worked together to make sure that everything ran smoothly.

The sounds of an incoming viper caught Troy's attention as the recruit landed first then Bri. It was strange to think that when many of them had left the Colonies they were fresh out of flight school. Now many were in command positions quicker than most had ever thought possible.

"Hey," Bri said, jumping up into Troy's arms. The move startled him at first but he managed to just catch her in time without dropping the small blonde.

"I see that someone is in a good mood," Troy replied giving his wife a kiss.

"Well, things are going well," Bri said. The smile on her face never left. That made Troy secretly glad. The past couple of months had been strained after learning that she could not have children was hard on her. Especially after learning that Rebecca and Nall were expecting a child. That friendship had survived as well. Rebecca felt awkward at first thinking that she was the cause of Bri's discomfort.

"Yeah, no Arbus attacks lately, but patrols have spotted their ships on the outer edge of our space.," Troy said. It seemed strange thinking that Earth had a 'empire' that had two colonies along with an outpost. There was now a boundary between the two races which was patrolled.

"Anything new come up," she asked him.

"Nope not yet," Troy replied. "Though I haven't seen Doctor Weaver in a while. That usually means he's working hard on something."

"I wonder what that could be," Bri replied. "Come on, let's get something to eat. I'm sure we can catch Becca in the cafeteria. She could probably use the company seeing how Nall is on patrol."

Troy allowed himself to be led away from the landing bay.

BSGBSG

Ares sat on the bridge of the Argo where he normally was. He was thinking about the Arbus tactics. So far they had not attacked Earth or Earth space in a couple of months. That made him nervous. He was sure that something was going on. He just had to find out what. The latest report on the next generation battlestar was on the screen in front of him. The battlestar did not have a name yet, but he heard that the name Enterprise was being thought about. Along with the battlestar another generation of attack cruisers was under design. The last of the Tiger class was underway that would give them three such ships, the Tiger, Lion and Panther.  
Then there were the destroyers and patrol ships under construction. The ship yards were running at full speed. He was sure that within another couple of months they would be able to strike the Arbus directly.

"Commander, Captain Renee is waiting to talk to you," Tara said.

"Put it up here," Ares said to Tara. She was the replacement for Rebecca. Once sitting down at the desk was no longer comfortable she was granted maternity leave. He was glad to see something's were still going along as planned. Families were still growing even in this uncertain time.

"Commander Ares, we picked up an Arbus fleet on course to Earth," Renee said.

"Numbers and type," Ares asked. He wanted to know if he needed to call in the second fleet or not.

"We counted ten ships, two of unusual configuration. They are larger than normal," Renee replied.

"I was wondering if this was going to happen. How long until they arrive," Ares asked her.

"The computers estimate in twenty hours at their current speed," Renee replied.

"All right, thanks. Let me know the moment anything changes," Ares said. He quickly got in touch with Commander Pratt.

"Ares, what's going on," Pratt asked.

"I need the second fleet at Earth," Ares said. "There is a fleet of ten ships. It looks like the Arbus are finally going to commit some of their larger warships to this war."

"How long do I have," Pratt asked.

"Twenty hours," Ares said. "I would like for you to arrive at the moon, we have a base there now as well. With the fighters there it should provide a good one-two punch to the Arbus."

"A bit tight, but I can make it," Pratt replied. "I need to get going then. See you then."

Ares sat back wondering what else he could do. He then decided to sound general quarters. Do that then tell everyone what was going on. He would order every non-essential person to rest for the next fifteen hours. Then preparations would be made.

BSGBSG

Jax walked into the cafeteria quickly spotting Bri, Troy and Rebecca. It was easy to see as Rebecca was still eating. It appeared that Troy and Bri had finished a while ago. She walked up to the group knowing that Nall was going to be a while longer before he got in here. He had just finished with his trainees when Jax had gone though the hanger finishing up her patrol.

"Jax, come on over and sit down," Troy said waving her on over. She grabbed a quick plate of food then walked over and sat down.

"So, what's new," Bri asked.

"An Arbus attack fleet is on their way," Jax just said causing them some alarm. "The commander is going to be announcing it real soon. It seems that the Fire Ant spotted ten ships heading towards Earth. The Second fleet is on the way here for back up."

"Ten ships. Are they all attack class ships," Troy asked.

"Nope, it seems that two of them are of a larger class. Could be an improved design," Jax replied.

"New ships. Interesting. I better go see if the commander needs me up on the bridge. The rest of us might want to get some rest," Troy said.

"Good idea," Bri said. "I also think that you should think about headed to the planet's surface?"

"I don't think so. If Nall is remaining up here then so am I," Rebecca said.

"Just giving you a chance 'cause you know that's what Nall is going to say," Bri said to her.

"I know, but I can handle him," Rebecca replied with a grin.

"I will talk to you later on," Troy said to his wife. With a quick kiss he walked out toward the bridge.

BSGBSG

Ares was sitting in the command chair on the bridge when Troy came walking in. Ares had a feeling that he knew what Troy wanted by the look in his face.

"Captain Troy, I guess you've heard the news by now," Ares said as Troy made his way across the bridge.

"I have, was checking in to see what the plan was," Troy asked.

"For now everything is ready. I asked for everyone to rest for now. Captain Renee is on the Fire Ant keeping an eye on the Arbus ships. If they make any changes she'll let me know," Ares said to Troy. "For now we need to rest. I want everyone combat ready not tired because we were running drills."

"I think we can do this," Troy said. "When should we be ready for them?"

"According to calculations the Second fleet will be here in seven hours, and the Arbus fleet in fifteen," Ares said. "The Earth government already knows what is going on. The civilian crews are already organizing and mustering their resources."

"Good," Troy said. "When do the pilots report to duty?"

"I still want patrols going just in case, but anyone not on patrol is to be resting. That will end in fourteen hours. Debriefing will be then," Ares said.

"I'll let them know," Troy said. "Have all pilots meet me in the briefing room right away," he said then walked off the bridge.

BSGBSG

Troy walked into the briefing room to see Nall, Bri and Jax all along one side of the wall. Nall had a smirk on his face, Bri was scowling and Jax was trying not to laugh. A mental roll of his eyes as he wondered what Nall had done now. He also wondered what type of revenge his wife would get on Nall.

"All right, thank you all for coming on such short notice," Troy said. "As many of you know there is a rumor of an Arbus attack fleet on its way to Earth. This rumor is true. The Fire Ant is currently tracking ten warships, two of an unknown configuration and larger than what we've encountered. They will be here in fifteen hours. The commander has ordered all pilots to rest for the next fourteen. If you are scheduled for patrol places work some rest around it. We will meet back here in fourteen hours, or twenty-one fifteen hours Zulu."

The group looked at each other as they understood what was going to be happening.

"Good, I want all of you to go and get some rest. We're going to need it for the upcoming battle," Troy told them. He watched as most of them walked out. He was not surprised when the ones who stayed were Jax, Nall and Bri.

"The Arbus finally brings in the big guns," Jax said.

"Looks like it," Troy replied. "Commander Ares isn't taking any chances in this one. I just hope that no other fleet is discovered while this is going on."

"That's all we would need, one fleet heading to Earth the other to Centari One," Bri said.

"So what happened earlier," Troy asked. He was not surprised when neither Nall or Bri replied but Jax did.

"The normal question," she said with a smirk. "And Bri shot him down again."

"It's obvious he isn't getting any," Bri said glancing at Nall.

"Me, sure I'm getting it," Nall replied.

"I thought that Rebecca was too far along to be doing the horizontal," Jax said.

"Who said anything about being horizontal," Nall replied in a huff. He was looking back and forth between the two women.

"I think you better quite this conversation while you can," Troy replied.

"You're probably right about that," Nall replied. "I better get back to Becca, she's going to be wondering what's going on. And see if I can convince her of heading back to Earth to wait this out."

"Good luck on that," Troy said. Nall waved then walked out in search of his wife.

"I don't know about any of you but I could use a nap or something," Bri said.

BSGBSG

Pratt looked out from the bridge of the Daedalus at the Moon. The Second Fleet had done everything it could to prepare for the upcoming battle. They knew when and from what direction the enemy ships would be coming from. They held all the advantages or he hoped they did.

"Commander Ares on fleet line for you," the communications officer said to him.

"Ares, what's the status," Pratt asked.

"The Arbus fleet is still on course to be here within the hour. Is everything ready," Ares asked.

"Yes, our fleet is positioned in lunar orbit," Pratt replied.

"Good, I want you to allow the Arbus fleet to pass you by, if they spot you engage. I want them to be focus on the Argo and the first fleet. That will give us an advantage a bit later on in the battle," Ares said. He wanted to split the Arbus fleet just in case something went wrong.

"You're sure that they are headed to Earth and not the fuel station," Pratt asked.

"Their course is constant, heading right for us," Ares said.

"All right, we'll be ready," Pratt replied.

Ares signed off leaving Pratt to think about the upcoming battle. He knew that the Lunar base was secured and ready for the upcoming battle and that the military forces on Earth were also ready. The general population still did not know but that was in case spies were still active. No new signals had been intercepted lately but no one in high command wanted to take the chance. He walked over to the view port trying to see if he could spot the base on the moon's surface. The next hour would pass quickly yet take forever.

BSGBSG

The scanner operator on the Argo almost jumped when his light flashed. He glanced at the screen and knew that it was time.

"Commander, we have scanner contact," he told Ares.

"Understood," Ares said. The battle was now ready. The pieces were in place, everyone was prepared and the enemy had arrived. "Let me know when the enemy has moved past the moon."

The officer went back to his scanner to watch. The Arbus fleet slowly crawled though space. They knew that they could not spot the Earth fleet that well and were acting cautious. Passing the moon the scanner operator notified the commander.

"All ships move out, prepare to launch all vipers," Ares said. The engines of the Argo rumbled to life pushing the giant ship towards the Arbus fleet.

"Arbus fleet changing directions, heading towards us," the scanner operator said.

Ares was not surprised. A couple of the destroyers were not made of the s-metal so they would be spotted easily. "Take down the range, it probably will indicate how far their scanner range is."

The Arbus fleet continued to head towards the First Fleet. The fleet was now past the moon without any change in direction.

"Tell Commander Pratt to engage," Ares said as his own forces headed into battle. "Launch all vipers."

BSGBSG

Troy waited in his viper next to Bri for the signal to launch. It was only a few seconds later that the bridge gave the permission to launch.

"Green squad, launch," Troy said as he pushed his thrusters. The acceleration forces pushed him back into his seat as his viper raced out into space. His scanner showed a lot of ship already.

"Heads up, incoming fighters," Bri said. "Everyone stay with your wingman."

Troy watched as Nall slipped into position with Bri and they raced off towards the enemy fighters.

"Well, this is different," he heard Jax's voice say.

"Let's just hope they don't kill each other," Troy replied.

"Nah, I'll kill them both before they do," Jax replied.

Troy glanced down at his scanner to direct the fight for the vipers and listen for anything that Commander Ares wanted his viper squadrons to do.

BSGBSG

Pratt stood on the bridge of the Daedalus waiting for the order to attack to come in. The Arbus fleet had passed the moon and now appeared to be heading towards the first fleet.

"Sir, the order just came from Commander Ares," the communication officer said.

"Thank you, all ships, attack speed," Pratt ordered as the engines of the second fleet roared to life. "Target the rear ships. Hopefully we can get off a few shots before they realize we're here."

The Arbus fleet and the First Fleet had already engaged each other. Pratt was watching to see what type of firepower the large Arbus ships had. The mass of fighters on both side buzzed around fighting each other while the larger ships started to hammer away at their opposite number.

"In range commander," the weapons officer said.

"Target the large ship first then open fire," Pratt said.

The Daedalus opened fire with her main guns. The Arbus fleet was taken by surprise by the ships behind them.

"All fighters, launch," he ordered.

The Daedalus fighters would be the ones carrying the anti-ship missiles. Ares assumed that the Arbus fighters would be engaged with the First Fleet's fighters to turn to engaged the Second Fleet's fighters. Pratt watched as Ares was proven right again.

BSGBSG

"Listen up, the Daedalus has launched her fighters, keep the Arbus fighters engaged until the second wave has launched their missiles," Troy said watching as the second wave of vipers converged on the Arbus fleet. They only had to keep the enemy fighters busy until the second fleet's vipers had completed their mission. After they launched their missiles then the wipers could act as normal fighters.

He could see Jax's fighter right beside him. So far there had been little need for them to become involved in the battle. That had allowed Troy the opportunity to concentrate on the battle.

"Head's up Troy, two incoming our way," Jax said to him.

Together they turned to begin the dogfight with the Arbus fighters. Jax quickly destroyed one while Troy took care of the other.

A quickly look at the vipers flying confirmed that Bri and Nall were still doing all right. The two pilots were right in the thick of battle. Troy had the impression that those two would not have it any other way.

"First wave completed," Troy announced as he watched the missiles streak towards the Arbus ships.

The missiles impacted on the Arbus ships. The scanner indicating damage being done on the enemy ships. The smaller ones started to back away from the fight. The two larger ships continued on their way towards Earth. The scanner did indicate some damage had been done by the missiles.

"Interesting," Troy mumbled. "Enemy fighters retreating."

He had the feeling that something was not right about this. Taking a quick look at his scanner he was hoping to see something that would help relieve his mind. Taking a wide look at the conflict he noticed something a bit strange. The vipers were mostly all in one area. A trap!

"All squadrons, scatter, repeat scatter, full thrusters" Troy said.

"What's up," Jax asked hearing the order.

"They've bunched all of our fighters in one area. He watched as Bri and Nall headed directly towards the enemy fleet.

"The larger warships just fired some sort of missile," Jax said. They watched as the missiles went directly to what would have been near the vipers and exploded. Several vipers were caught in the explosive wave but many more survived.

"That was close," Troy said.

BSGBSG

Ares watched as the Arbus employed another new tactic. This one was designed to eliminate their fighter advantage. He wondered what else the Arbus had planned. He turned to see what the scanners were saying. So far the larger Arbus ships had taken some damage, not as much as he had hoped but some. The Daedalus and the Second Fleet had yet to engage the enemy but that was only a matter of seconds.

"Continue firing on the nearest large warship. We need to figure out what their capability is real quick," Ares said.

"Commander, that last attack by the ship required a lot of power, the scanners are indicating a power loss in both ships," the scanner operator said.

The Argo continued to fire on the enemy ship scoring several hits on the enemy ship. So far there were a few indications that the ship was damaged. The first indication was the reduced speed of the ship. With the cruisers also contributing their firepower the large ships were taking considerable damage.

The bridge of the Argo rocked as the battlestar received a hit in return.

"Damage," Ares asked quickly.

"Slight damage to the engines, all weapons and both landing bays are fully functional," the reply came.

"One attack ship has been destroyed," the scanner operator said. "The Arbus fleet is turning around. They appear to be retreating commander."

Ares thought about going after them. It was something different in the Arbus tactics. The fighters had retreated into a trap.

"All ships, break off, we let them go for now," Ares said then activated the communicator to talk with Renee.

"Commander," she said.

"I want you to follow the Arbus fleet at a distance, be careful as they probably have a trap set up. I want to know where they come from and how mny other ships are there," Ares said.

"Understood commander," Renee said as the screen went blank.

"Recall the fighters," Ares said. The recovery process did not take long as the scanners watched the Arbus fleet leave Earth space. He would have to wait for the report that Renee gave to find out what was going on out in Arbus space.

"Commander, I'm picking up a strange signal coming from the moon," the scanner operator said.

"How strange," Ares asked.

"It's like the ship is one of ours," the scanner operator said.

Ares was about to open his mouth when his communication screen came to life.

"Commander Ares, this is Colonial bound, returning from our mission."

"Don't worry about it, its one of ours," Ares said, relieved about the fact that the ship was back. "Come on in then get over to the Argo for your debriefing."

"Yes sir commander," Gunther said.

BSGBSG

Ares sat in his office along with Troy and Pratt waiting for Gunther and Scott to arrive. The two men walked into the room sitting down.

"First off welcome back," Ares said.

"Thank you sir, and in a strange way its good to be back," Gunther said.

"We're you able to talk to Commander Cain," Ares asked.

"No sir, Cain has been transferred with the Fifth Fleet. But I did talk with Commander Bakkas about everything that has gone on. He was disappointed to hear that we will not be able to help them anytime soon, or at least is that still the case," Gunther said wondering what developments had occurred in the fight against the Arbus.

"We're slowly putting together offensive engagements but mostly still on the defensive," Ares said.

"Sounds like the war with the Cylons. The Colonials are holding their own but Commander Bakkus informed me he was not sure how much longer they could last. The Council needs to authorize more ships but for some reason are reluctant to do so," Gunther said. "There is a growing movement for peace as well."

"Well, as long as the Cylons only want to exterminate all humans I doubt there will be peace," Troy said. Even as he said it though there was an uneasy feeling that passed over him. A feeling that something dreadful was going to happen. He shook it off and waited to see what Gunther would say next.

"Did you have any problems once you arrived," Ares asked.

"No sir," Gunther said.

The rest of the meeting went as planned. Gunther reporting on what had gone on back at the Colonies and Gunther updating the status of what had happened with the Argo.

"I told him a bit about the S-metal, but that the metal had flaws in it that we were trying to fix," Gunther said.

"Good, I doubt that the metal would be ready for such combat yet," Ares said. "What about you captain?"

"It was an eye opening experience laddie," Scott said. "Ah've never seen so many people united under one cause before in my life."

"That's understandable. The Arbus were causing such confusion that it would have been hard for your people to unite for anything," Ares said.

"Aye, the saying is true, united we stand, divided we fall," Scott said. "We came close to that."

"It's a good thing we arrived when we did," Ares said. If the Argo had arrived any later the civilization on Earth might have been wiped out.

The report wrapped up leaving the group to head back to their assignments. Gunther was headed to oversee the Daedalus' viper squadrons and Scott would be given command of the Colonial Bound. The ship had been designed as a scout ship but could last longer in space than any other ship.

Captain Scott, I have an assignment for you. I want you to take the Colonial Bound deep into Arbus space and report back on what you see," Ares said.

"Surveillance then laddie," Scott said. "Aye can do that. When do yah want me to leave?"

"As soon as you can. Keep the same crew, and a moment Gunther," Ares said. "Any problem with our spy?"

"I thought there might be, but there wasn't. Surprised me," Gunther said. "I do have one thing, it's for Troy."

"Me," Troy said a bit surprised. Gunther handed him a small file.

"Yes, it was given to me by Commander Bakkus, he did not tell me who gave it to him," Gunther said.

"All right, dismissed everyone," Ares said.

End of Return

Continued in Birth and Babies


	50. Chapter 50: Births and Babies

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Births and Babies**

Troy walked back to his quarters holding the file in his hands. He wondered why he would get something and who it could be from. There were few people who knew about the mission and no one would have know who Gunther would have encountered upon their return to the Colonies.

"What's up Troy," Bri said from where she was sitting. "Something go wrong in the meeting?"

"No, everything went about as we expected except for one thing," Troy replied.

"What was that," Bri asked. She wanted to know what had happened.

"I got a message from someone back at the Colonies," he replied. "It's a bit of a mystery, but I guess I will find out." He glanced at the tape and then at the player wondering if he wanted to play the message. Bri took the tape and placed it into the player handing him the player.

"Push play," she told him.

Troy finally pushed the play button and waited a few seconds before the image appeared. The face of his father surprised him a bit.

"Hello son, if you're watching this then you have received this message," his father said. "I hope that the mission has been good to you. I knew that one day you would leave the Colonies, it was something I had a vision of. I could not tell you because a vision has a free will about it. You can change a vision if you know enough about the events."

Troy glanced at Bri wondering if his father had saw her in his vision as well.

"I also want to know that yes, we approve of your wife," he said to them. "She is a lovely young woman Troy, I've told you mother much of what I have seen. She agrees that she is nice. We hope to one day meet her. I know that there is much you have to do on this mission. Concentrate on Earth, we will need it on day. We are proud of you,"

The player shut off leaving the two of them sitting there. Bri spoke up first after recovering from what Troy's father had said.

"Well, I guess that answer one question," she said. "They would approve of me."

"Yeah, I guess there is still some things about my abilities that I don't know about," Troy said.

"Have you had any new visions," she asked.

"Nothing important, just faces trainings, minor stuff," he replied. "Nothing major yet or even very long."

"I don't know if that's good or bad," she replied.

"Me neither," he said. "Well, today is a long day still, we better get a move on."

BSGBSG

Nall sat on the chair in the cafeteria where Troy, Bri and Rebecca were sitting around a table.

"So, are you ready," Bri asked. She had gotten over the feelings that she could not have children and now looked forward to spoiling Nall and Rebecca's child.

"More than ever," Rebecca replied.

"I thought you would be, but I was actually talking to the bigger baby over there," Bri said pointing over to Nall. That earned a laugh from Troy.

"Sure laugh it up," Nall replied. "Just wait until we ask you to babysit."

"I think Bri will spoil the little tyke," Troy said with a smile.

"But first she has to make an appearance," Rebecca said. "I know that I'm ready, swollen feet, bloating, morning sickness, retaining water, and a pain in my back is what I've gotten out of this."

"And I love you anyways," Nall replied placing a kiss on his wife's cheek.

"I know, you've put up with my mood swings, and everything else," Rebecca said.

"I warned him that if he didn't that I would make him be the one to care for the kid at night," Rebecca said.

"We came to a quick understanding," Nall said. He opened his mouth to say more when a sudden gasp from Rebecca made them all look. "Are you all right," he asked quickly.

"My water just broke," she said.

"Are you sure, then we need, I should, can you," Nall said not making much sense to the rest of the group.

"Nall, relax, breath, stay calm," Bri said from where she was. The last thing Rebecca needed would be a hyper husband.

"I'll go get the doctor, you help her to the med lab," Troy said pointing to Nall.

"Good idea, doctor and med lab," Nall said.

"This is the person who is going to share the genes of my daughter," Rebecca said.

"You married him," Bri said as they helped her up.

"I must be crazy then," Rebecca replied.

BSGBSG

Ares stood on the bridge of the Argo looking out at the ships of the First Fleet. He could see the Tiger along with the destroyers and frigates that made up the rest of the fleet. The fleet was rapidly expanding. He had recently talked with Pratt about what he wanted to do next. An offensive campaign against the Arbus. If he could destroy the Arbus' abilities to fight then it might give them time to gather a fleet and head to the Colonies.

The return of the Colonial bound from its mission rejuvenated the original crew of the Argo. Now they had to finish this war before they could head to the Colonies. He also wondered if many of them would ever consider the Colonies home again. They had been away from the Colonies now almost six yehrens now. Time was flying by quicker than he realized. The war did not help.

"Sir, communications from Earth for you," the communications officer said to Ares.

"Thank you," Ares said sitting down in his chair. The screen came to life as the current President, Sam Harvey appeared.

"What can I do for you Mr. President," Ares said.

"As you know today is my last day in office. I wanted to introduce you to the next president, Xia Chang," Sam said. Another face appeared. It was one of the Far East type people. Ares had met Xai a few times before glad that the man did not seem to be like a few others he had met.

"Mr. Chang," Ares said.

"Ares, good to meet you again," Xai said. "I look forward to working with you in the near future."

"As do I," Ares said.

"Commander," his attention was caught by the breathless voice of Bri.

"Excuse me a moment," Ares said turning to see what Bri wanted. "Yes?"

"You wanted to know when Becca was in labor, well it started," Bri said.

"Then I probably won't see Nall for a while then," Ares said.

"No, I think he's going to be busy for a while. Unless we're attacked Troy gave him some time off," Bri told Ares.

"Good," he replied. He knew that a lot of people were excited about the birth especially those who knew where the Argo had come from. "I hope to be by sometime after their baby is born.

"I think they would like that commander," Bri said. She walked off the bridge to head back to med lab.

"What is the status of the fleet," Ares asked.

"Everything shows that conditions are at yellow," the reply came.

"Good, I'll be in my office then down at med lab in case anyone needs me," Ares finally said.

With that he left the bridge in the capable hands of the bridge crew.

BSGBSG

Troy waited with Bri as Doctor Gravin and Nall went to where Rebecca was. Too many people might become too much for such an event.

"Wonder how long it will take," she asked.

"Well, some births can take a long time, others really quick. Its hard to say," Troy replied. He thought that the conversation should have been reversed. He should have been the one asking how long. They had been waiting for almost an hour when Commander Ares walked into the room.

"I see that she's still in labor," Ares half asked, half said.

"Correct commander," Troy said. "So far neither Nall or the doctor have been out."

"Though I have heard a few curses directed at Nall," Bri said with a chuckle.

"I'm glad I told Nall about that part," Troy said.

"It's a good thing too, otherwise he'd be out here," Jax said from the doorway. "So the tyke hasn't come out yet?"

"Not yet," Bri confirmed. She opened her mouth to say something else when a man walking into the med lab caught her attention. Troy noticed the motion and looked over. It had been a while but he did recognize the man, now if only he could remember the man's name.

"Sorry, the doctor is busy at the moment can I help you," the woman asked.

"Nothing much, just wanted to have the doctor check on something. I've been getting headaches, well I should say migraines quite often lately," the man said.

"All right, we can start the process and when the doctor is done with his delivery he can see you," the nurse replied.

"Delivery," the man asked a bit confused.

"Yes, he's delivering a baby," she replied.

"On board a warship, seems like a strange place to have a kid," the man replied.

"Here you go, fill this out and have a seat," the nurse said handing the man a paper. He turned and sat down.

"Excuse me, but you seem familiar to me," Bri said speaking up for the first time.

The man looked up before replying. "Yeah, you do too," he said. "How long have you been aboard the Argo?"

"Longer than you, but it's not here," Bri replied. "But a ship I think."

"Before the Arbus attack," the man finally said. "I'm John."

"John, from our honeymoon, the cruise," Bri said putting the pieces together.

"Of course, you and your wife were kind enough to offer us a place to sit to eat," Troy said. "How is Helen?"

"She died in the attack," John said quietly. "After that I joined the military, was stationed on the Tiger, then the Spirit, and now the Argo."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Troy said.

"It seemed that you were right after all," John said recalling the conversation so long ago.

"I wish I hadn't been," Troy said. "You were passionate about your work."

"I still am, the ocean is my first love, but if we are dead then I can't explore it," John said. "I did find out later that my boss was a clone. It's amazing that such an advanced race would want to keep others down."

"It wasn't just the human race, the Skartians are also homeless," Bri said.

"Yes, I had the opportunity to meet one of them. Nice people, a bit strange but nice," John said filling out another line on the form.

Troy opened his mouth to say something when Nall walked out of the back. "Well, I guess I'll let you all know that it's a girl and she's in perfect health."

"Wonderful news," Bri replied for everyone. "How is Rebecca?"

"Tired and resting," Nall answered. "We thought that we would name her Mary after Rebecca's mother's name. Come on back and you can see her."

Bri, Ares and Jax walked back to the waiting room to see the latest person of their family. Troy remained behind for a bit longer.

"Hope the doctor finds out what's wrong," Troy said.

"So do I," John said. "I'll see you around. Perhaps you can continue our conversation we had so long ago."

"Sounds good, as long as you tell me what you know about the ocean," Troy said.

"I think I could do that."

BSGBSG

Keela walked up to the president. Xai Chang looked up to see who was in the office.

"Come in please," Xai said. Sam looked up as well noticing the Skartian.

"Thank you Mr. President," the alien said.

"What can we do for you," Sam asked. He had been working with Xai in the transition between presidents.

"Actually I wanted to talk to you about something. My people wish to thank you for your hospitality," Keela said.

"Why do I hear a but coming," Sam said.

"Several of my people have expressed a desire to go home," Keela said. "I'm asking for your help."

Sam sat back and looked over at Xai. This would be a decision between the two presidents, the council and of course Commander Ares.

"It sounds like a reasonable longing. I suggest we take this up to the council, and the military. The military will be the ones who will know more if we can or cannot undertake such an operation," Xai said.

"Then I will, I didn't want to cause any problems, it's just, well," Keela went silent trying to find the words to say.

"You miss your home, the smells, tastes, and everything else that goes with it," Sam said.

"Yes, we do," Keela replied. "You do understand."

"We try hard to understand everyone," Xai said. Everyone knew that a discussion would be the next step.

BSGBSG

Ares glanced down at the baby girl in Rebecca's arms. He wondered what his life would have been like had he married. He had one true love, Casandra, back in the academy. She had wanted to get married, but he wanted to wait a few more yehrens. As fate would have it she had been killed in her first mission. Pushing the though aside he turned when he heard his name.

"Commander, there is a message for you from the president," Gavin said.

"Thank you, by the way, have you looked at the other crewmember, John I believe his name was," Ares said.

"Yes, I have, poor fellow, I think the stress is getting to him," Gavin said.

"Combat stress," Ares asked.

"Yes sir," Gavin replied.

"Thank you doctor," Ares said walking out of the room heading to his office. Once there he activated the screen waiting to see the president appear. Xai Chang's face appeared calm so that meant nothing bad had happened.

"Mr. President," Ares said.

"Commander Ares, we have a new development down here that I would like your input on," Xai said.

"All right," Ares replied wondering what type of situation they would need his input.

"Keela came to us a few minutes ago with a proposition," Xai said.

"Really, what type of proposition," Ares asked.

"Well, it seems that he would like for us to consider free his homeworld," Xai said.

"Free his homeworld, interesting," Ares said. "In other words he wants us to go on an offensive?"

"Yes, I wanted to get the military's opinion on such an operation and the protection of Earth," Xai asked.

"Well, let me look into this and get back to you," Ares said. "I'll have to talk to Commander Pratt, and Peter to see how far along the Orion is."

"Understood commander, how long do you think you need before you will know?"

"Give me a day to prepare," Ares asked.

"Then I'll schedule a meeting with the security council for a meeting in two days," Xai replied.

"I'll be there," Ares said.

BSGBSG

Troy glanced out the window. Commander Ares had sought him out after going to the bridge. He learned that Keela had asked help in returning to their home world. Now Troy wondered if the time had come for them to go on the offensive. They might learn a lot about who they were fighting.

Bri walked into the room not stopping until she stood next to him. "Seems like you're a long ways away," she said.

"Huh, oh yeah, just thinking about what the commander said," Troy said.

"What does he think," Bri asked him.

"He thinks we can do it. He wants to use the Argo and the first fleet," he said.

"You don't agree with the commander," Bri asked.

"No, I just wish we had more information about what their forces were," Troy replied.

"What about the Colonial Bound, it should be back in a couple of days after a deep recon into Arbus territory?"

"Yes, but the council will want an answer right away," Troy replied. "They think that the Colonial Bound is already on a deep recon mission. If it returns with only a small area of recon they might wonder about where the ship has been."

"Didn't think of that," Bri said. But what Troy said had made sense.

"I do know that the next generation of battlestars is already being built. They will not have the s-metal, and neither will the next generation of cruisers," Troy said. "That means that the first and second fleets will be the stealth fleet."

"What about the fighters, right now only green squadron has the s-vipers," Bri asked.

"The other squadrons will be given the fighters are well," Troy replied. "Red squadron should be receiving the next squadron of s-vipers."

"That will make Jax happy," Bri said.

"You just have to remember that you can't take as much damage in the s-viper," Troy said.

"I know, I try not to get hit at all," Bri replied. "Makes surviving easier."

"I know. I've watched you fly," Troy said.

"So are you headed down to the surface with the commander," Bri asked.

"I think I should be there. He heads down in an hour," Troy said. "How is Mary doing?"

"Fine, they just put her down to sleep," Bri said. "I think that Nall is still wondering around in shock at everything."

"He'll do fine," Troy said. "I want you to pick something up for me while you're down on the surface."

"All right," Troy replied.

BSGBSG

Ares walked though the hallway on his way to the council. He had gone over what the military could do and what they might not be able to do. He had quickly contacted the captain of the Skartian freighter to see how far away their homeworld actually was. Once he had that information the rest became quite easy to figure out.

"Hello Commander Ares," Xai said from behind him. Ares turned around to see the new President walking towards him.

"President Chang, how are you today," Ares asked.

"Quite well, but after this meeting I have some questions for you," Xai said.

"Really, about what?"

"Something I've heard rumors about. I think you know what," Xai replied.

"I'll answer what I can," Ares said.

The two of them entered the council room where Keela waited. Ares nodded to the alien then sat down waiting until it he turn to speak came up. His mind drifted as he half listened to what the president said. He thought about what Xai had said. There were rumors going around about where the Argo had come from. He had not been paying much attention to the rumors, but now he would be able to hear them.

He snapped out of his musing when he heard his name. Stepping up to the podium he addressed the council. He found a couple of familiar faces, Sam and Troy watching him back.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I was asked by President Chang about the possibility of helping to free the homeworld of the Skartians," Ares said. "After talking with their captain and gaining information I believe that such an endeavor is possible, and perhaps necessary."

Ares could see the group of council members as their faces showed shock at Ares' statement.

"It is my belief that we now have sufficient forces to begin an attack on the Arbus. Fighting a war that we are will just not work. All we are doing is waiting for them to come to us hoping that we might be able to defeat them. So far we have, but such a tactic requires us to remain on high alert for long periods of time," Ares said. "We are only human and mistakes can be made though simple error because a person might be tired or not take the threat seriously. What I am proposing is that this action be part of the next phase of the war. We push into Arbus territory."

One of the senators stood up waiting until Xai recognized him to speak.

"Commander Ares, how many ships would you require to undertake such a mission, then how many would it take to make sure that the Arbus do not return," the senator asked.

"Very good questions senator," Ares said. "I believe that the First Fleet should be sufficient for the undertaking. As for defense it will depend on how the Skartian homeworld fared to the Arbus invasion. At this time it is impossible to speculate on the forces required. But the Second Fleet currently is made up of more ships than we had when the Arbus first invaded."

The answer seemed to satisfy the senator as he sat down. Many had already seemed to make up their minds. Ares walked away from the podium and towards his seat.

"I think they'll vote yes commander," Troy said from beside him.

"It will be different, being on the attack," Ares said.

"I know, I haven't been on an attack in yehrens," Troy replied.

"Well, I haven't since the Pegasus and Galactica made a deep raid into Cylon territory to destroy the Tartarus shipbuilding faculties," Ares said. "Shortly after that I was transferred to the Pacifica. She made up the main part of the defense fleet."

"I was on board the Atlantia for the raid on Gena. My first combat experience," Troy said remembering the battle or skirmish as it really was.

"I think Xai wants to know the truth about where we came from," Ares said. "I want you to be there."

"Very well sir," Troy replied.

"Then it is official," Xai said. "We will help out the Skartians as they try to regain their homeworld."

BSGBSG

Troy walked into the office where Commander Ares and President Chang were already sitting. Troy had talked briefly with Bri getting updated with the Nall and Rebecca. Mary was doing fine, but Nall had begun to think about a place on Earth to settle down on. Troy chuckled at that thought. If he had been told upon meeting Nall that the man would be settling down to raise a family he would have said no way. He turned his attention to the current people in the office.

"I want to think you for coming commander," Xai said. "I have heard some things that I need clarified. First off are you human?"

"Yes, we're human Mr. President," Ares replied. "But not from Earth."

"I get the feeling that this is going to be quite a story," Xai said.

"Yes it is," Troy said. "We're actually from twelve colonies from Kobal. Right now we are locked in combat against a race of machines called Cylons."

"Kobal, Cylons," Xai said. "Those names I've heard whispered about. One rumor is that the Cylons are the Arbus, another is that Kobal is another name for Arbus."

"No, Kobal is the birthplace for all humankind," Ares said. "A catastrophe occurred on the planet forcing the people to leave. At the time there were thirteen tribes, twelve settled close together the thirteenth went separate. Legend said that they settled on a planet called Earth."

"You think we're the thirteenth tribe," Xai asked a bit amazed.

"Yes, but we've learned that the thirteenth tribe encountered the Arbus shortly after arriving. After a war, they lost and the Arbus erased all existence of Kobal or any of their history," Ares said.

"Yes, I have heard that the Arbus do wipe out any memory of the previous society," Xai replied. "We don't even know how many times they have attacked Earth, it could be dozens of times."

"Or one," Troy said. "But it seems that they attack because they view any race with technology that could compete with them as a threat to their existence."

"Whatever the situation they have if the Colonies fall the Cylons will be a threat here as well," Ares said.

"Are they that much of a threat," Xai asked.

"Take the Arbus, and their actions so far and the Cylons are much worse. So far the one truth we know about the them is they want any organic life form to be destroyed," Ares told Xai. "We got involved trying to help out a neighbor, that was a thousand years ago."

"A thousand years," Xai said with disbelief in his voice.

"A thousand years," Ares said. "We've learned to work together during that time. Many things that seem to trouble Earth do not even warrant an argument in the Colonies."

"That must be nice," Xai said.

"But the downside is that constant war does wear on a society after a while," Troy replied. "I really don't know how much longer the Colonies can maintain the war without new allies."

"And Earth is too far away for the people here to want to help I'm afraid," Xai said. "Too many will see the threat as distant not wanting to do anything until its too late."

"I'm afraid so," Ares said. "That's why we are working in secret."

"Perhaps when the threat of the Arbus is over we can work something out," Xai said. "Maybe a force of volunteers or something."

"Perhaps, we'll cross that bridge when we get there," Ares said.

"If you need anything though, do not hesitate to ask," Xai said. "I watched the Arbus destroy my homeland and if it wasn't for you they would have succeeded."

"So, is there anything else that I need to know," Xai asked.

"Just that regardless of what happens, many of my remaining warriors will return after the war against the Arbus," Ares said.

"Understandable," Xai said.

End of Births and Babies

Continued in Skartia


	51. Chapter 51: Skartia

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Skartia**

Troy glanced over at the house that Nall had bought. The house had one story three bedroom and two and a half baths. The neighborhood seemed to be nice and had been recently rebuilt.

"So, what do you think," Nall asked them.

"I like it," Bri said turning towards Nall. "It's you."

"Yep, a regular stud-pad," he said thrusting out his chest.

"I'm sure that Rebecca will agree," Bri said. "Wait until I tell Mary that when she's older."

"You wouldn't," Nall said. "You would."

"In a way I feel sorry for Mary already," Troy said. "She's got Nall as a father and Bri as an aunt."

"What about you as an uncle," Rebecca said, walking up carrying Mary. And shouldn't you three be getting ready to leave?"

"Working on it," Nall replied.

"Well, work on it harder. I know that Commander Ares wants to leave within the hour," Rebecca said. "And that he is expecting you three to set a good example. I'm not going to be there to keep you in line this time."

"I'll be good," Nall replied.

"I'll make sure of that," Bri said.

"Well, if we're ready then we should leave" Troy said.

"Just make sure you come back," Rebecca said, looking right at Nall.

"I'll make sure he does," Bri replied.

BSGBSG

Ares glanced down at the screen waiting for Pratt to appear. He would be the commander of the defenses of Earth while Ares was gone.

"Commander," Pratt said his face appearing on the screen. "I take it that you're ready to leave?"

"Within the hour Pratt," Ares said. "Any word on the Colonial Bound lately?"

"No, Gunther is keeping silent. But I do hope that everything is going all right. Do you think such action is wise?"

"Yes, I do, we will win either way," Ares said. "I expect to see you still here along with Earth when I get back."

"And I expect to see the Argo come back soon," Pratt said. "I think that the Enterprise will be ready by the time the operation is over. Are you sure that you don't want to delay it any?"

"No, if the Arbus are doing what I think they are every second may count," Ares said. "It may already be too late."

"Good luck," Pratt said.

"You too, Ares out."

The communication line ended as Ares glanced around at the bridge crew. Most of the crew were new, as new ships entered the fleet. There seemed to be a strong influx of warriors and a dilution of combat trained warriors. He hoped that this fight would go smoothly but the only plan he really had was to free the Skartian homeworld.

"The last supply shuttle has just departed. We can leave at any time," Ralph, the new second in command said.

"Good, tell all ships to depart in five minutes," Ares said.

"Yes sir," Ralph said.

Minutes later the engines of the First Fleet powered up sending the ships on the next mission, the freeing of the Skartian homeworld.

BSGBSG

Nall glanced around the pilot's briefing room. Many of the pilots were already sitting down waiting for their battle instructions. Bri stood off to the side with her normal bored expression as she waited. The calm before the fighting. He had watched her become one of the best out there and now she waited for Troy to show up. He still seemed to be amazed at the fact that such a small package could be so deadly.

"Any idea about what we're to expect," the pilot beside him asked.

"No, but I trust Commander Ares to get the job done Fred," Nall replied.

"That he does," Fred replied. "Damn, she looks so calm, is she always like that," he said, with a nod of his head towards Bri.

"Only before a battle, and never piss her off," he said, glancing down at his socks.

"Red socks," Fred said, his eyebrows rising at the sight.

"Yeah, I thought she had mellowed after getting married, nope I was wrong," Nall said.

"But aren't you married as well," Fred asked.

"Yeah, it's complex," Nall replied. "I guess I shouldn't have asked for a threesome."

"You, Bri and Troy, doesn't make much sense," Fred said.

"No, her and Jax," Nall replied.

Fred opened his mouth to say something when Troy walked into the room. Nall focused his attention on his friend to see what information he had about the Skartian homeworld.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I have some information for you. Do not take what I am about to tell you to heart though," Troy said. "Remember that some time has passed from when the Skartians left their homeworld to now. The Fire Ant is heading into the system for recon and should be back in an hour with the intelligence allowing Commander Ares to formulate a battle plan. Once that happens then I will let you know. In the meantime I want you all to relax and stay sharp. We might have to go at a moment's notice."

"Green squad," Bri's voice said loud enough for everyone to hear. "I want the following in the hangar bay, Nall, Jason, Sara, Greg, Victoria, and Brett."

Nall rolled his eyes at the sound of his name. He knew what they would be doing.

"Sounds like she's still pissed at you," Fred said.

"Nah, she loves me," Nall said. "No this is CAP. We're to sit in our fighters for the next hour hopefully bored to death."

"Ah, well good luck," Fred said, as Nall got up and headed to the hangar.

BSGBSG

Renee watched from the bridge of the Fire Ant as the Skartian system came into scanner range. So far they had not spotted any dangers to the fleet. She wondered what they might find once they went further in to investigate.

"No Arbus ships in orbit," Renee asked.

"Nothing yet ma'am," the reply came.

That suited Renee just fine. The Fire Ant had been designed as a scout ship, not a battleship. That was what the battlestar and cruisers were for. The Fire Ant had to rely on its speed and stealth to survive.

"One ship, rising from the far side of the target planet," the scanner operator said. "Appears to be an attack class."

"All right, what about the moons, anything around or on them," Renee asked.

"Haven't received anything yet captain."

"Good, we'll wait a bit then head in a bit further to get better scans," Renee said to her crew. It might take a while to get a good scan but the more information the better it would be for Commander Ares.

BSGBSG

Ares sat on his chair on the bridge of the Argo. So far there had been no contact with the Fire Ant. He watched as Keela walked onto the bridge. He made his way over to where Ares sat.

"Commander, any word on the planet," Keela asked.

"Nothing yet, but I don't expect to hear anything for another ten minutes or so," Ares replied. "I want them to do a thorough scan of the system. Last thing I need is a surprise by the Arbus."

"I understand commander," Keela replied. "I guess I just am curious as to what damage my homeworld took in the invasion."

"I understand Keela," Ares said knowing that a few people here thought the same way as Keela. They were not from Earth so they understood what the Skartian thought better than he realized.

"Commander, incoming message from Captain Renee," Ralph said.

"Put it though," Ares said.

"Commander, we've finished the scan of the system," Renee siad.

"What's the word," Ares asked noticing that Keela seemed to be interested in what Renee had to say.

"There appears to be three Arbus ships, one Attack class, a destroyer class and a transport class all orbiting around the target planet," Renee said. "We did not get too close in case we were discovered but there appears to be no bases on the moons or any other planet in the system."

"All right, then we attack at once," Ares said. "Ralph, prepare all ships to move out."

"Yes sir," Ralph said.

BSGBSG

Gunther walked around the bridge of the Colonial Bound. So far they had mapped several planets that he hoped were within the Arbus Empire. He still had a few concerns with a few of the crew members. One seemed to be acting a bit more irrational than ever.

"Captain, may I have a word with you." Gunther turned to see Mike standing there.

"Mike what can I do for you," Gunther asked.

"It's about John, I'm concerned about him," Mike said.

"What's going on now," Gunther asked.

"Well, he's been hanging around the communicator way too much," Mike said.

"You think he's going to report something to the Arbus," Gunther replied.

"Yes," Mike said.

"Well, to be honest I thought about that already. But he doesn't know the fleet strength of our military, nor does he really know the history of the colonies," Gunther said. "But if he tells the Arbus about the Cylons it might help us."

"Help you," Mike replied. "I'm not sure I understand."

"It might just help prove that we are not their enemy and can be talked to. The Cylons will not budge on their views to eliminate us," Gunther said. "If they find out about them the Arbus might just realize that they are on the wrong side."

"So you are going to let him contact them?"

"I don't know about that yet," Gunther replied. "It's a dangerous idea that I am giving thought to. I just haven't decided yet. Captain Scott will have the final decision on that."

Mike nodded his head then walked off the bridge. He would continue watching John just in case.

BSGBSG

The door to Ares' office chimed indicating that his visitor had arrived. He called for him to come in then looked up from his desk to see Keela walking into the office.

"You wished to talk with me commander," Keela asked walking over and sitting down as best he could.

"Yes, we are about to begin our attack. The report is that the Arbus presence is light. Your civilization could be destroyed. I just wanted to prepare you for that," Ares said.

"I understand, but we can restore our civilization, its the homeworld we miss, the nature of the planet much as you would miss Earth," Keela said.

"All right, I just wanted you to be ready, in case you had a preset idea," Ares replied.

"No, we have talked about such an event already and have prepared for it. Most of us realized that any friends we had are probably dead," Keela said. "We want our homeworld back."

Well, the mission is about to start," Ares said. "There might be additional Arbus ships nearby so we'll have to be ready for anything."

The two got up to head to the bridge when Keela stopped. "Commander, from my people I wish to thank you for such a sacrifice you are undertaking."

"Its who we are," Ares said not commenting any further on it. They walked onto the bridge.

"Commander, everything is ready," Ralph said.

"Launch green squadron and tell all ships to move out," Ares said.

The bridge crew went to work as the vipers launched. The patrol ships of the fleet went out to the outer edges of the system to scan for any additional ships while the main fleet headed to the Skartian homeworld.

"Arbus ships have not moved yet," Ralph said. "Nothing from the planet's surface either."

Ares nodded his head. "Tell Green squad to proceed." Ares said. Green squadron had been armed with heavy missiles to destroy the attack ship or disable it quickly. They then were to make close passes on the planet's surface to see what the situation was.

BSGBSG

Troy listened as they received their orders. "Green squad, go ahead as planned."

"Green squad acknowledged," Bri said.

Troy watched as the squadron lined up behind Bri and headed straight to the target. He hoped that every one of them came back. Activity seemed to pick up from the Arbus fleet as the vipers closed in.

"They've picked you up, watch out," Troy said.

The vipers released their missiles then banked away from the ships. The Argo closed the range to follow up once the missiles had hit. Small explosions could be seen on the hull of the Arbus ship. It appeared that they had managed to raise their shields a bit but still suffered damage.

Then the Argo opened fire as the remaining vipers lunched from the Argo.

"Jax, the Arbus are launching fighters, engage and destroy," Troy said.

"Understood," Jax said as she led red squadron into battle.

"Bri, what do you see on the surface," Troy asked.

"Nothing that resembles a civilization. Mass replanting efforts seem to be underway. Hold on, a building has appeared on my scanner," Bri replied. "Large, scanning for life signs, Skartian, at least five thousand."

"The whole planet looks like it went through a war zone," Nall said. "But it also appears that the Arbus are replanting the vegetation. No indication of craters from weapons fire."

"Commander, did you get that," Troy said.

"Yes we did," Ares said. "Green squadron, engage the remains of the Arbus fleet."

The vipers of green squadron exited the planet's atmosphere heading back into the battle.

"Commander, the Arbus transport is filled with Skartians," Jax said.

"Disable their engines, maybe we can prevent them from blowing the ship up," Troy said quickly.

A large explosion indicated that the attack class ship had been destroyed. The destroyer hung on a few moments longer before it too was destroyed. Now only the transport remained.

"Green squad, head back to the Argo to refuel and rearm," Troy said. "Jax, red squad is to stay on combat patrol. Send a few by the transport to see what the condition is."

"Understood," Jax replied as she carried out her orders.

Troy banked his viper back to the Argo waiting in line to land.

BSGBSG

Nall watched as Troy, Ares and Keela talked about what to do next. The building that he and Bri had found were all over the planet's surface. Each capable of housing thousands of Skartians.

"We should exercise caution, if they are clones there is no telling how they will react to us," Ares said.

"I understand that commander, but clone or not they are Skartian," Keela said. "My ship had too few survivors on board to allow my race to survive."

"I also want to send a group of warriors to the transport. Maybe we can get some information about them from the ship," Ares said.

"We should head to the ship first, without engines there is no telling how long they can survive," Troy said.

"I agree. Select a team and head on over, but be careful for anything that might be a self destruct," Ares said.

"I wish to go," Keela said.

"I think it would be best for you to stay here for now. We don't know how stable the ship is and if it blows we could lose you. Our first objective is to secure the ship from danger, once that's done then we can send for you," Troy said.

"How's it going," Bri whispered in Nall's ear.

"I think they just have about finished," Nall replied. He saw that Troy now headed towards them.

"What's the decision," Bri asked him.

"We're going over to the transport first," Troy replied. "I think we should go over as we have experience with Arbus in the flesh."

"Great," Bri said with a sarcastic smile.

"Let's go, we've got two shuttles waiting," Troy said.

BSGBSG

The group felt the shuttle touch down on the hangar bay of the transport. So far there had been no movement from the hanger. The atmosphere seemed normal as the door opened and Nall and Fred exited the shuttle with blasters drawn.

"Well this is wierd," Fred said as they scanned the hanger.

"Clear," Nall finally said as the rest of the group walked out. The second shuttle landed allowing more warriors to exit.

"So, what do you think," Nall asked Troy.

"This is creepy," Troy said. No normal sounds could be heard on board the ship. "All right, group two, you make your way to the engine room, if you can find it, we're headed to the bridge and keep in contact."

"Yes sir," Sara said. She took her group and headed towards the door hoping to find the engine room.

Troy waited a few seconds before leading his group off towards where he hoped to find the bridge. They were cautious rounding corners to make sure that no surprises waited for them.

"All right, this is now officially creepy," Bri said. "Where is everyone?"

"That is a good question," Nall replied.

Troy had to admit that this did seem creepy. A large ship and no crew or even any sign of a crew member.

"They might have seen us land and are waiting for us," Troy replied. "Of course if that was the case they should have already attacked us."

"Gee, thanks," Nall said.

"There, that looks like a doorway to an important part of the ship," Troy said waving his blaster towards a door.

The group carefully opened the door not sure what they would find on the other side. Another room, this one seemed to be the bridge and again abandoned. Systems were still working as if everyone had just gone on a coffee break.

"Okay, where is everyone," Troy asked.

"Captain Troy, this is Sara," Troy heard on his communicator.

"Go ahead," Troy said.

"We found the cargo bay, I think you should get down here. I'm sending a person back to the hanger to guide you there," Sara said.

"All right," Troy said. "Nall, you're with me. Bri, you and the rest see if you can find out anything."

"Will do Troy," Bri said as the rest of the group started their work.

"What do you think," Nall asked as they made their way back to the hanger.

"I don't know."

Once back at the hanger they saw one person waiting for them. Troy walked up to the man.

"Where's your partner," Troy said.

"Don't need one sir," the man replied. "We found the crew."

"Lead on," Troy said not liking what the man had said. They walked down a passage way to an area where Sara's group waited.

"Captain, I think we know why this ship is deserted," Sara said. "In there."

Troy noticed that no one really wanted to head in there so he glanced in without going on. What he saw almost seemed surreal to him. Hundred of bodies lying on the ground. Both Skartian and Arbus.

"By Kobal, what happened," Troy said stunned by what he had just seen.

"Looks like mass suicide," Sara said. "I've sent two men on to find the engines to make sure nothing else is going on."

Troy activated his communicator to the Argo. "Commander Ares, come in," he said.

"Captain, what have you found?"

"It appears that the entire group committed suicide, taking the Skartian clones with them," Troy said.

"I see," Ares said.

"We're checking out the engines and I have a team on the bridge of the ship already just to make sure," Troy said. "I suggest that you send teams down to the surface of the planet right away in case the Arbus are doing the same thing down there."

"Right," Ares said. A brief pause before he said anything. "The team is heading out as we speak. Anything else that you can tell me about the ship or how what you see."

"No, we'll have to work on this a bit more. I think Weaver will have something to do when we get back," Troy said.

"Let me know if you find anything else out," Ares said.

BSGBSG

Ares turned to Keela who had heard what had just happened. The Skartian had a look of horror on his face.

"I'm sorry Keela," Ares said.

"All of them, dead," Keela said, as if he could not understand what that meant.

"I should have known something like that would happen," Ares said.

"Something like this, I do not understand," Keela asked.

"In many encounters with the Skartians, if they are losing and we can capture them, they will blow up their ships. I was hoping that by eliminating the engines we could finally get live prisoners. I wasn't expecting them to kill everyone on board," Ares said. "I just hope we get to the bases on the planet in time."

"It seems that the Arbus are more blood thirsty than we thought," Keela said.

A few minutes later the first group landed on the planet's surface. The report did not come as good news however as the group did not encounter any living beings.

"I had hoped that there would be a few survivors," Keela said. "Our numbers are already low."

"We'll help any way we can," Ares said.

"You humans have already been more than helpful," Keela replied.

Ares wondered to himself if there could have been more he could have done. He watched as the group from the ship landed back on board the Argo. He had already sent a message out to Weaver to gather a team and come here. He hoped that Weaver might be able to gain new information from the ship.

"Commander, we have survivors here," one of the leaders said over the radio.

"Skartian or Arbus," Ares asked quickly.

"Skartian," the man said.

"Good," Ares said. He turned to look at Keela. "I guess we have survivors, some at least."

"I should go down there," Keela said. "They are clones but they are still Skartian. I need to figure out how much brainwashing the Arbus have done."

"Good luck," Ares said.

"Thank you my friend," Keela said as a warrior led him off the bridge.

End Skartia

Continued in Counter-Attack


	52. Chapter 52: Counter-Attack

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Counter-Attack**

Troy landed the shuttle down on the surface of Skatia near the new settlement of Skartians. It had taken a while but the clones had been integrated into the colony. No one could say with any certainty which side the Skartian clones would be on. As a result the clones were put to work farming, building buildings and other meaningless tasks.

"Captain," Ares' voice said.

"Here commander," Troy replied.

"We need you back at the Argo. The patrols have reported an incoming Arbus battle fleet," Ares said.

"On my way," Troy said. He turned to Keela who stood nearby. "I need to get back. The counterattack we've been expecting is coming."

"We'll be ready down here as well," Keela said. "Good luck captain."

"Thank you," Troy said. He turned and boarded the shuttle along with several other pilots from the Argo and headed back up to the battlestar.

BSGBSG

Commander Pratt stood on the bridge of the Daedalus. Things had been very quiet so far. The Hermes had just returned from Skartia after delivering Doctor Weaver and his crew.

"Commander, message from the Argo coming in."

"I'll take it in my quarters," Pratt said walking off the bridge. He sat down at his desk and opened the message. Ares' face appeared on the screen.

"Pratt, just wanted to inform you that the patrols have picked up an Arbus attack fleet. By the time you get this message the battle should just be starting. I will let you know when the battle is over and the outcome. If you do not hear back from me in six hours assume the worst and prepare for battle," Ares said.

Pratt leaned back in his chair for a second thinking about what Ares had just told him. He wished that Ares had told him how large the Arbus fleet had been. Settling on a course of action he leaned forward and opened his communicator to Earth.

"Commander Pratt, what can I do for you tonight," Xai said.

"Mr. President, I just received word from Commander Ares. The counter-attack is happening as we speak. I'm bringing the threat level up from yellow to orange," Pratt said.

"That might scare a lot of people commander," Xai said. The difference between yellow and orange was that orange meant that the threat of an Arbus attack was imminent.

"Just for the next twelve hours or so," Pratt said.

"Do you really think such an increase is justified," Xai asked. "I'm not trying to be mean I just don't want to cry wolf too much."

"I understand, but in this case yes. If the first fleet is destroyed then it will be only a matter of time before we are invaded as well," Pratt said.

"Very well, I'll get my cabinet on it right away," Xai said. "Who needs sleep anyways, I hear it's overrated."

Pratt chuckled at that. Being a commander could really suck sometimes.

BSGBSG

Bri made a hard turn in her viper, lining up another Arbus ship. Pressing the trigger she watched as two shots flew straight hitting the target. A second later it exploded as Bri turned to find another.

A quick glance around she noticed tht the Argo and Tiger engaged in combat with the Arbus fleet. The attack fleet had turned out to be larger, including a battleship class warship and six attack class ships. The largest attack fleet the Arbus had yet sent against them.

"Bri, head to sector 4, Red squad could use some help there," Troy said.

"On it," Bri replied as she and her wingmate turned to head into the battle.

Bri could see the intense firefight going on between red squad and the Arbus fighters. She hit her turbos allowing her to enter the battle quickly. Spotting an enemy fighter she banked a bit and without looking at the target hud she opened fire. The fighter took a few hits before exploding adding another to the growing total that Bri had.

"Scratch another one," Bri said.

"Glad you could make it," Jax said.

"Where can I help out the most," Bri asked.

"Frak, there's one enemy that's pretty good, do you think you can take him," Jax replied.

Bri glanced around for a few seconds before spotting the Arbus fighter in question. She watched as the pilot finished off two vipers in one pass.

"Well, I'll give it a try," Bri said, turning her viper towards the enemy in question. "Nall watch my back to make sure no one sneaks up on me."

"Sure thing," Nall replied.

The Arbus pilot seemed to noticed Bri just before she fired and made a quick adjustment. Bri's shots missed. She watched as the Arbus' fighter twisted and turned to avoid her pushing his fighter to the limit. Against a normal pilot his maneuvers would have worked. However Bri pushed her viper and herself to the limit as well.

Neither side engaged in what had become a personal dogfight between the two pilots. Nall knocked off another fighter while keeping an eye on Bri.

Bri had narrowed her concentration down to the one fighter. She trusted Nall and the others to watch her back in this fight. "No two bit daggit is going to get me today," she growled, as the enemy managed to fire a few rounds at her. "Let's try something different," she said watching her scanner. "Come on, come on, a little bit closer you daggit," Bri mumbled. "Ah-ha!"

Bri slammed the reverse thrusters on effectively reversing her course. Pressing the turbos had her going forward again with the Arbus' fighter in front of her. She didn't waste time on the battle-scanner as she fired. The enemy fighter exploded as her aim was dead on.

"Good job Bri, return to the Argo," she heard Ares voice say.

"Yes sir," Bri said.

She turned her viper toward the Argo and headed off. She kept her wits about her as she left the combat zone just in case anyone tried anything. It seemed though that the Arbus fighters went out of their way to avoid her.

BSGBSG

Ares stood on the bridge watching as the reports of the battle trickled though. The enemy ships had taken quite a bit of damage. That was not a surprise considering that the Tiger and Argo were both concentrating on the battleship.

"Turret sixteen has been destroyed," Ralph said. "Fire control teams are responding to the fire on deck eighteen."

"Damage to the enemy," Ares asked.

"The battleship has taken tremendous damage," Ralph replied. "One attack ship is also seriously damaged, the others have received slight damage."

"Tell Green squad to fall back and prepare to rearm," Ares said. "Their target will be the attack class ships."

"Yes sir," Ralph said, telling Troy the order. "Troy says that might leave them short in vipers to cover the fleet," Ralph said relaying what Troy had said to him.

"Do it anyways, I have confidence in red squadron," Ares said.

"Yes sir," Ralph said. "Green squadron is heading back sir."

Ares knew that he would have to wait a while as the crew reloaded the squadron. He had confidence in red squad but he knew that any squad would be good only for so long. What would be red squad's limit?

"Recovering fighters as quickly as possible. The rearm teams are working on the first arrivals," Ralph said.

Ares nodded again as the battlestar traded jabs with the Arbus battleship. The Tiger currently had engaged a few of the attack ships. The destroyers had come along to help out the Tiger but the ships were outnumbered. Ares thought that the few minutes wait took an eternity until Ralph said that the first vipers were ready to launch.

"Good, their target is the attack class ships. I want their weapons disabled as soon as possible," Ares said.

BSGBSG

Bri landed on the Argo after her fight with the Arbus pilot. Whoever the pilot had been he had skill. Her canopy opened and she almost stepped out when the crew chief came up to her.

"New orders captain," the chief said. "We're rearming you with missiles and readying you for launch."

"Again," Bri replied. She took the moment to stretch as the crew worked quickly on her fighter. A second later the chief signaled for her viper to be moved to the launch bay.

"Captain Bri, your orders, Green squad is to attack the attack ships disabling their weapon systems," Ralph said to her.

"Understood, where is the rest of my squadron," Bri asked.

"Being rearmed as we speak captain," Ralph replied.

Bri almost replied when another viper pulled up in the next launch bay. She recognized it as Nall's viper.

"All fueled up and ready to go beautiful," Nall said to her.

"You know the mission," Bri asked.

"Yep, I'll let you choose the target," Nall said.

"All right, let's go then," she said pushing the turbo button. The viper shot out of the launch tube back out into the battle.

BSGBSG

Troy watched as red squad held back the assault of Arbus fighters. With green squadron temporally withdrawn from the fight he had joined the battle himself. A few moments later he noticed that green squad had launched but had a new mission.

He lined up another fighter pressing the trigger. A few seconds later the ship exploded as Troy switched to another target. "Nice shot," Jax said over the radio.

"Thanks, good to know that I haven't lost my skills yet," Troy said.

"I thought that was a requirement of becoming an air group leader," Jax said.

"Nah, I'm the exception, besides I'm married to Bri," Troy said.

"Well, here she comes so you better be ready," Jax said.

Troy would have liked to watch, but he had gone into the middle of the battle. Now he seemed a bit more concerned with staying alive. Lasers flew past him as an Arbus fighter had gotten in behind him. He turned quickly using the vipers superior maneuverability to his advantage. A few seconds later the tables were turned as he opened fire. The Arbus fighter had engaged his thrusters to try and get away from the viper but Troy's shot were right on. A few seconds later the fighter exploded leaving Troy looking for another enemy fighter.

"Arbus attack ships suffering damage to their weapon systems," he heard over the radio. Bri and Nall had delivered their payload and now were headed into the firefight at top speed.

Troy noticed that with the additional numbers coming back from green squadron. The attack on the Arbus ships seemed to be a success. So far the enemy ships had suffered some damage helping out the Argo and Tiger in the battle. The attack ships had fallen back a bit along with the battleship. He wondered if the Arbus were retreating.

BSGBSG

On the bridge of the Argo Ares wondered the same thing as Troy as he watched the Arbus fleet withdraw. The Argo had suffered some damage but nothing that interfered with its ability to fight.

"Get me the Fire Ant," Ares said waiting for Renee to appear on the screen.

"Commander, what can I do for you," Renee asked.

"Have you found any indication of any other ships in the area," Ares asked.

"No commander," Renee replied.

"Good," Ares said. He felt a bit confident in allowing the Arbus fleet to withdraw. He could repair the damage to his fleet while preparing for the next attack. He held his ships and crew in high confidence.

"Allow the enemy to withdraw for now," Ares said.

"Yes sir," Ralph said relaying the order.

"Renee, I want you to tail the enemy fleet to see where they go. Do not engage if you do not have to. I want the information more than you destroying another enemy ship," Ares said.

"Understood sir," Renee replied.

"Arbus fleet is retreating," Ralph said.

"Get red squad landed and refueled at once," Ares ordered. He watched as the crew went to work. The good news had been no fires reported in this fight. He quickly sent word down to the planet's surface of what occurred and then his next message went to Pratt back at Earth. The last thing he needed would be the Second fleet heading to their location leaving Earth undefended.

With everything done and the messages sent Ares walked back to his office to review the damage done to the Argo. If the Arbus sent any larger fleets then they would need more batlestars to defend Earth with.

The next generation battlestar, Enterprise had started construction. The lessons of the war had been instituted. Ares wondered if this latest attack on the Arbus would mean more counterattacks. He did not like the fact that the Arbus did not attack as much as the Cylons did. That could mean the Arbus were already at war with someone, or they did not process a large fleet to fight with. He hoped to gain the information soon.

BSGBSG

Captain Scott watched from his position on the bridge as Gunther walked over to the scanners. Something had been picked up and now they had to figure out what it could be.

"Hmm, large group of ships," Gunther said out loud. "If I didn't know better I would say it was a battle."

"A battle, out here laddie," Scott said.

"Let's get closer," Gunther said. "Helm, course six by thirty-five."

"Yes sir."

Scott walked over to where Gunther stood. Looking down at the scanner he noticed that there appeared to be several ships, many large. The scanners indicated two battleship class ships, along with ten attack class ships. The opponent seemed to have a couple of large ships as well and a few smaller ships. The scans indicated that the two sides were about equal in power.

"Well this is real interesting," Scott said watching the screen.

"Very, perhaps we should head back with this information. I think Commander Ares would like to hear this," Gunther said.

"Aye laddie," Scott replied. He did not look up from the screen. "Perhaps though we should wait and see who wins as well."

Gunther glanced at Scott for a few seconds as he thought it over. "Good idea."

"If the Arbus lose should we try to contact whoever they are," Scott asked.

"Not yet, there is no telling if they are friendly or not. The enemy of my enemy is not always my friend. We cannot afford any more enemies," Gunther said.

Scott nodded his head in agreement. The Arbus and the Cylons seemed bad enough already. Another enemy might be one too many for the fledging Earth military.

BSGBSG

Pratt sat in his chair on the bridge waiting for the next message from Commander Ares. So far it had only been a couple of hours since the message had been received. He would not get to worried until a few more hours had gone by.

"Incoming message from Commander Ares."

Pratt jumped up and quickly activated his screen to view the message.

"The battle is over for now. We've sustained some damage but are repairing it right now. I would like for you to keep your guard up as the Arbus still might attack in the next couple of hours. Will contact you again later for the resupply, Ares out."

Pratt leaned back in relief as he learned that the First fleet had survived. Now he just had to wait out the next couple of hours.

"Maintain level of alert for the next four hours then bring the condition of the fleet back down to yellow," Pratt said sending a message to Xai and Pakrov down on Earth. He figured that Xai would be glad to hear the news. "I'll be in my office if you need me."

Pratt walked off the bridge of the Daedalius and for his bridge. He wondered what would be next now that the Skartian homeworld had been freed. What type of strain would that place on the defenses of Earth? He hoped that Ares had thought about that as well.

BSGBSG

Troy walked into his quarters after the long day. The debriefings had been long and red squad currently had combat patrol duties. Bri turned around as he walked in.

"About time you made it back," she said to him.

"Yeah, the commander wanted to make sure that the current patrol plan covered everything," Troy replied. He walked over giving Bri a hug and a kiss. "Green squad has patrol in a couple of hours."

"I know, John and Mike have the first patrol," Bri replied slipping into the bed.

Troy joined her a few moments later. He felt Bri snuggle up next to him as she quickly fell asleep. He joined her not that long after.

BSGBSG

Troy glanced around the bridge of the battlestar noticing that it seemed a bit different. It looked like the Argo but seemed a bit different. The bridge currently seemed to be in a state of alert. The red alert lights bathed the entire area in a red light.

"Commander, we can no longer raise the rest of the fleet," a young woman said to the commander.

Troy glanced at the commander and thought that the man looked familiar. He had to think about where he had seen the man.

"All of them," the commander asked.

"We can't raise the Galactica or the Pacifica commander," the woman said. "The Triton has been destroyed for sure."

Troy suddenly wondered if this had anything to do with the vision he had of the Pacifica. Before he could continue the thought another explosion rocked the ship throwing people to the floor.

"Major damage to Alpha landing bay," the woman said. "Many systems are not responding."

Troy watched as the commander stood there. His face showed that he knew what would come next. The battlestar had taken the maximum damage that it could take. A wave of flame suddenly engulfed the bridge snapping Troy awake.

His eyes had to adjust to the dark room of his quarters before he fully realized that he had awakened. He released a breathe knowing that he now had several visions of battlestars being destroyed. The one thing he had no answers to had been when and where. He now had seen three different battlestars destroyed. He felt confident that none of them were the Argo but he could not be certain about the Daedalius or the Enterprise.

"Another one," Bri's sleepy voice said.

"Yeah," Troy said. "It seems to be the only vision I'm getting lately. Aside from the birthday party for Mary next year."

A green eye popped open and looked at him. "Birthday party?"

"Um, yeah, we're all going to be invited. There is something about a cake and a candle some singing and laughing but nothing major," Troy replied.

"Good," Bri said snuggling back down.

A few seconds later Bri had fallen back asleep. Troy remained awake as the vision kept repeating in his mind. What was the universe trying to tell him and what was he ignoring? He finally decided that he would talk with Ares about what he had seen. Maybe he would be able to shed some new light on the visions.

BSGBSG

Pakrov walked off the shuttle. For being the general of the military he had rarely been off world. The last time had been almost three years ago. Now here he stood on Centari One watching as Commander Peter walked up to him.

"General Pakrov, welcome to Centari One," Peter said.

"Thank you commander," Pakrov said. "Quite impressive. I noticed the Enterprise seems to be approaching completion."

"Yes, we're all quite excited about it," Peter said.

"I also noticed the Atlantian ship on the surface of the planet. Anything new from that source," Pakrov asked.

"No, most of the team went with Doctor Weaver to explore the Argus transport we captured at the Skartian homeworld," Peter replied. He led Pakrov down the hallway towards some of the many training rooms used for the pilots. Pakrov glanced around looking at the facilities.

"You were on Earth when the Arbus attacked right," Pakrov asked as they continued on towards the quarters.

"Yes, I was the commander of the base on Earth," Peter replied. "I never dreamed that I would be fighting a different enemy."

"Ah, the Cylons," Pakrov said. "I had to try and force it out of Commander Ares."

"The rumor is around but we use the name as the training enemy," Peter replied.

The rounded the corner in the guest quarters area. "This is your quarters, if you need anything for it just ring. Do you wish to get settled first or continue the tour?"

"Let me put my stuff down and we'll continue. I really want to see these hydroponic farms," Pakrov said.

"Ah yes, they brought in income for us in the beginning, or at least they were," Peter replied. "The Arbus attacked before it was fully operational. That and we had some sabotage problems."

"Read about that," Pakrov replied as they walked out of the quarters area and towards the farms. "Do you think it was because of the clones?"

"It makes sense but we still have a few of them working for us," Peter said. "In fact one went on board the Colonial Bound."

"I heard that ship completed its original mission," Pakrov said.

"Yes, they returned about a month ago," Peter replied. "Well, here we are."

Pakrov stood in awe as the smell of dirt, water and flowers invaded his senses. Before him he overlooked a large area of plants and trees. Above him rose the huge dome structure that allowed the light in.

"Impressive," Pakrov said. "I see where some of this technology is starting to be used on Earth."

"Yes, they really improved some areas of technology. Though they really lag behind in computer technology," Peter replied.

"I've had to answer some questions about why the ships are not very technological in nature," Pakrov said.

"Yeah, can't really tell them about the Cylons," Peter said, as they continued though the farm towards the part that Pakrov came to Centari One for.

"I wonder if we should start telling people about it. It's already a rumor on the internet," Pakrov said.

"So far they've got it wrong though. I'm going to be asking Commander Ares about that next time I talk to him," Peter said.

They entered a large area where a mass of troops were exercising and going though drills. Pakrov stood there watching the group.

"The ground troops are coming along quite well," Peter said.

"So I see," the general said.

"General Pakrov, good to see you sir," a young man said walking up to them.

"Ah, Captain Jones, how are your troops doing," Pakrov replied.

"They are doing well, awaiting your inspection," Jones said.

"General, this is where I'll leave you," Peter said.

"I'm sure you have many other things to do than babysit me," Pakrov said. "Besides, I think Jones will be able to handle any questions I have."

"Very well sir," Peter said. He walked off leaving the two men to run though the training for the ground forces.

"Sir," Jones said after he had finished the tour. "Some of the men asked why we're doing this. Most of the battles seem to take place in space."

"Ah, we only have so many pilots and they cannot be in two places at once. Its only common sense that we have a division of ground troops," Pakrov said.

"Sissy pilots," one man said.

"I doubt you would think that if you were in their shoes private," Pakrov said.

"Yes I would sir," the man replied. The general reached into his pocket and produced a small handheld.

"Then identify this ship," Pakrov said.

"Ah," the man hesitated taking his time. "It's the Hermes."

"Correct, but your dead," Pakrov said. "Each pilot must know without thinking if the ship is enemy or not. Any hesitation in battle costs you your life. You don't have a bunker to hide behind while you think. They also have tremendous g-forces to withstand each time they go out in battle that can take their body beyond physical endurance knowing if they black out their dead. Is that what you want?"

The man thought about it for a few seconds. Sure they trained all day long, but there seemed to be some advantages in being a ground force. They had yet to really be needed and they knew what the enemy looked like. Even a clone might be easy to spot with the training they had.

"I'll take where I am for now sir," the man said.

"Good, now I'm here because you're being deployed," Pakrov said. "We're sending you to the Skartian homeworld to help organize and make sure that the Arbus are gone."

"We'll be ready," Jones said.

End Counter-Attack

Continued in The Cylon Rumors


	53. Chapter 53: The Cylon Rumors

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**The Cylon Rumors**

Ares waited on the hangar of the Argo for General Pakrov to arrive. The shuttle had landed and the door opened to allow the Russian born general onto the deck.

"Welcome on board the Argo general," Ares said, walking up to the man.

"Commander Ares, glad to be here," Pakrov replied.

"The ground forces will be a welcomed relief for my forces," Ares said.

"I bet, any new attacks," Pakrov asked.

"No, we know where the nearby Arbus base is and are keeping an eye on it," Ares said. "The patrol ship keeps in contact at a regular interval."

"What should I tell Captain Jones his mission is," Pakrov said.

"Well, we have not seen any Arbus since we captured the planet but we are not sure yet," Ares said. "Basically they are to patrol the area in sweeps to make sure that the Abus have left. With the threat of another attack I don't want my pilots sitting on the ground."

"I understand," Pakrov said. "I'll let him know right away."

"Good, how are things back home," Ares asked.

"Going well. Commander Peter asked me a question that is lingering in the back of my mind. Is it approaching the time to tell more people about the Cylons?"

"It's something I've been asking myself as well," Ares said. "I don't know to be honest with you. I know that we should start something."

"Hmm, I was thinking about it on the way over here. What if you just start telling those in the military? If it leaks out don't deny it but don't confirm it either," Pakrov said.

"It's risky, I've been watching your society closely in the past couple of years. It seems that your people have a way to turn what is right, into wrong, and making the villain the hero. That's a risk we cannot take with the Cylons," Ares said. "Too much is at risk and I'm not sure that some will understand."

"I know," Pakrov said.

"Tell Commander Peter that I'm thinking about it and I am taking any suggestion," Ares said.

"Good, he'll be glad to hear that," Pakrov said. "I'll go and tell Captain Jones his mission."

BSGBSG

Troy watched as Bri and Nall continued on their way down the pathway. So far they had not discovered anything which was fine with him. The noise of an approaching shuttle caught his attention and he glanced over to see the shuttle coming in for a landing.

Troy walked over to where the shuttle landed as the door opened allowing the ground forces out. The leader of the group glanced around noticing him and walked towards him.

"Captain Jones, here to relieve the pilots for ground duty," Jones said.

"Captain Troy, and we're glad to see you," Troy said.

"Been busy," Jones asked as the rest of the group got out of the shuttle.  
"Nope, been pretty boring actually," Troy said.

"Let me get my men organized and we'll talk some more about what's been going on," Jones said.

"All right, I'll let Keela know that you have arrived," Troy said. "You'll be working closely with him. So far none of the clone Skartians have given us any trouble. They are hard workers and learn easily."

"What level of security do they require," Jones asked.

"Just watching, so far they've done nothing else," Troy said.

"Ah, good the real ground troops are here," Nall said as he and Bri walked up. "I feel safer in the cockpit of a viper than I do out here."

"Not me," Jones said remembering his talk with Pakrov. "Nothing to hide behind."

"I like you," Nall said smiling. "Usually ground personal think we're babies or some such nonsense."

"I did until I had a talk with General Pakrov," Jones said. "He opened my eyes a bit. You may have a bit more luxuries but at least I don't have to worry about my oxygen leaking out in the middle of a fight."

"So true," Nall said. "Well captain, we'll see you back on the Argo."  
"All right," Troy said turning back to Jones.

"Sounds like he's seen ground combat," Jones said.

"He has, and many of us don't like it," Troy said as they began walking to the main building.

"Does it have anything to do with something called Cylons," Jones said. "I did a lot of research on things and some things just don't add up."

"It's classified," Troy said.

"That's what I kept hearing. But a rumor is that the Argo didn't come from Earth and now the way some of you act really makes me wonder," Jones said.

"You want the truth, fine, the Cylons are really a race of machines bent on destroying all of humankind," Troy said. "The Argo came to Earth to gain help from the humans of Earth."

"The humans of Earth, sounds like there are other planets of humans out there," Jones said.

"Twelve homeworlds and several other colonies. Earth is the Thirteenth tribe of Kobal," Troy said. "It seems that the Arbus have wiped all memory of Kobal from your history. We came looking for Earth because we are losing the war against the Cylons."

Jones stopped and looked at Troy. "I'm not sure if you're insulting my intelligence, telling the truth or what," he said.

"I will tell you, what matters is the Arbus," Troy said not adding that things could change real quick if the Colonies fell.

"Right," Jones said as they entered the building. Troy could tell that the man would be thinking about it for a while now.

BSGBSG

Nall landed on the Argo behind Bri. She waited for him to reach the elevator of the hanger which would take them to the flight room.

"Troy said that you got a message from Rebecca in the last batch of messages," she said to him.

"Yeah, I haven't had time to look at it," Nall said. "Been down on the planet. It's the first thing I'm doing when we reach the pilots room."

"Good, I didn't want to have to torture you for ignoring her," Bri said.

They exited the elevator making their way to the monitors. Nall activated the screen and waited as the message loaded. Rebecca and Mary appeared on the screen.

"Hey, just wanted to let you know what's been going on here. I've settled in to the house, the neighbors are nice. Mary has decided to not let me sleep at night but she's allowing me to sleep enough and I sleep when she naps as well," Rebecca said on the message.

Nall listened to the rest of the message thinking about what he would reply back with. A brief thought of him watching his wife and child went thought his mind. If someone had told him this before he started this mission to Earth he would have said they were crazy. Now it didn't seem so crazy at all.

"She's got your eyes and Becca's nose," Bri said.

"You think," Nall said turing to her.

"Yep," Bri siad.

"With my eyes she'll be a heart breaker for sure," he said. "No guy better want to touch her."

Bri started to laugh at that. He turned to her to see what he found so funny.

"It's just you making that one-eighty turn around," she said. "It's interesting to see happen."

"Thanks," Nall said as he turned to record the message back. Bri said hi for her and Troy. Nall wondered when the Argo would be heading back to Earth.

BSGBSG

Pratt stood on the bridge of the Daedalus as the latest reports from the Skartian homeworld came in. The ground troops had arrived and the Skartians were busy building a small base to house a defense force on. The First fleet would not be there forever as it had other missions to undertake.

"Commander, incoming ship," the scanner operator said.

Pratt turned to look at the scanner as it began to run though the identification process. He hoped it did not stop on an Arbus ship but prepared himself. The scanner flashed a second later as it finished the identification. Pratt wondered what the Colonial Bound was doing back so soon.

"It's the Colonial Bound, but she's not scheduled back until a couple more months," the scanner operator said.

"I know, raise to yellow alert, have all vipers ready to launch," Pratt said. "Helm plot an intercept course and engage."

The crew raced around as the ship went to a yellow alert. The Daedalus broke orbit and headed towards the Colonial Bound.

"Incoming message."

"Put it though up here," Pratt replied. He felt a bit of relief at the sight of Gunther.

"Commander, sorry for returning so soon but we found something I think you should know about," Gunther said.

"I'll come aboard and take a look," Pratt said.

"I'll be waiting for you then commander," Gunther said.

"Prepare a shuttle" Pratt said heading off the bridge and towards the hangar bay

BSGBSG

Gunther watched as the shuttle landed on the small hanger area of the Colonial Bound. The door opened and Commander Pratt stepped out. His curiosity about why Pratt was here, and not Ares, had been aroused, but figured he would learn about that later.

"Welcome aboard commander," Gunther said.

"Thank you captain," Pratt said. "And you as well Captain Scott," he said to the older man.

"Aye, welcome aboard laddie," Scott replied. "Ah think we've got something that you'll be glad to hear."

"This way commander and we'll get started," Gunther said leading the group away from the small hanger.

Gunther led them to the small room where they could talk more comfortably.

"Now," Pratt said sitting down "what was so important that you had to come back?"

"This," Gunther said bringing up a screen. The screen held the image of several ships, about half of which were Arbus warships the other half an unknown ship.

"Who are they," Pratt asked.

"Well after the battle we closed in to see. It appears that the group they were fighting were Arbus as well," Gunther said.

"Arbus," Pratt replied not sure he heard right.

"Yep, Arbus," Gunther replied. "It appears that the Arbus are at Civil war with each other or a long-lost group trying to reclaim power."

"There's no way to know which side is the right one to contact either," Pratt said.

"Right," Gunther said. "We only know that they are fighting but nothing else beside that. I wanted to give you the information in case you came across any of the ships. I want to head back and see if I can gather more information about what is going on."

"I'll contact Ares and see what he says about this," Pratt said.

"All right. That will allow us time to resupply the ships and transfer some new people on board," Gunther said.

"Yeah, it's been over a year. Some of them will want to go home and see the changes on Earth. I also know that some of us want to know how things are going back home as well," Gunther said.

"Nothing much has happened since you were there," Pratt replied. "It will take a while to contact Commander Ares but go on ahead and begin your resupply. Anything else to report."

"Just that our clone on board seems to be acting a bit strangely. It's like he knows he has a mission but just doesn't want to do it or something like that," Gunther said.

"Could it be a danger to the ship," Pratt asked.

"I don't think so," Gunther said. "He's been like that ever since we visited the Colonies. It's like he's noticing that there is a bigger universe out there than the Arbus."

"Could be a good thing captain," Pratt said.

"I guess so," Gunther replied. They got up and walked out of the room to wait on Commander Ares' reply.

BSGBSG

Keela walked into the room where Ares and a few others sat. He recognized General Pakrov and Captain Troy but not the other man. He assumed that the other man would be the one in charge of the new Earth ground forces.

"Welcome Governor Keela, how are things going," Ares said.

"Better than I had hoped," Keela replied. "I group of us have started work on the latest hatchery."

"Good news then," Ares replied.

"Very," Keela said as he sat down with the rest of the group.

"Governor this is Captain Jones, he will be in charge of the ground forces here for as long as you require them," Ares said introducing the man to Keela.

"I am sorry that I could not meet with you sooner but unexpected developments happen," Keela said.

"Understandable governor," Jones said back. "It must be tough to rebuild an entire civilization."

"It might be without help," Keela replied. "With your help and what had survived aboard our ship its proving easier than we thought. Things just take time to build and train people on."

"Anything new on the surface in regards to Arbus activity," Ares asked.

"No, it's been quiet commander," Keela answered handing a paper over to him.

"I see, then it should be an easy assignment captain," Ares said glancing at Jones.

"I won't say so until it's over commander," Jones said. "Don't want to jinx it."

Troy laughed at that thought. "So true," he said.

"All right, now here is why I've called you all here. The Colonial Bound returned early. It discovered something quite exciting," Ares said activating the screen. Everyone glanced at it to see a ship appear. "This is a new unknown ship that appears to be fighting the Arbus. Captain Gunther decided to get closer and found out that the crew of this ship is Arbus as well. The thought is that the Arbus Empire is at Civil war with itself but we do not know."

"That would be an interesting development," Troy said from where he sat.

"Indeed, but we don't know how much is true or not," Ares said. "Being Arbus I am not sure we can trust them."

Keela sat there in silence for a few moments listening to the latest news. He thought that the latest news about the Arbus brought some new information about them. Part of him wondered what else they would discover about the aliens. So far they knew that the race was very reluctant to be captured to the point they committed suicide to prevent it. The next part included a desire to keep other races below their technology level. It seemed that the only reason the Arbus attacked was when a race showed signs of being able to operate in space.

"To be honest people I'm not sure if this news is something new with the Arbus or this has been going on for years or longer," Ares said to the group. They all nodded their heads.

"So what are we to do about it then," Keela asked.

"With the new information I'm sending the Colonial Bound back out to gather more information. They just might stumble on what is really happening out there," Ares replied. "For now we secure the planet and continue on the plan we had."

The group agreed leaving the room.

BSGBSG

Pratt reviewed the message from Ares just to make sure that he did not miss anything. The ground forces had made it all right to the planet. So far everything had sailed smoothly. The Colonial Bound would head out again to gather more information on what was happening inside Arbus space. Pratt looked over to Gunther who did not seem surprised by the news.

"Well, it seems that I'm going to be spending the least amount of time here at Earth of all of us," Gunther said.

"Looks that way," Pratt replied. "Good luck though. I have a feeling that you're not going to need it though."

"I'm not, such a nice thing to say," Gunther said.

"No, I have a feeling that we are," Pratt replied.

"Well then, I'll wish you good luck," Gunther said with a smile.

"Ha-ha," Pratt said smiling as well. He got up with Gunther and walked out of the office and onto the bridge of the Daedalius.

"At least I just have one ship to take care of and not several," Gunther said.

"Yep, though you either lose your hair, or it turns white," Pratt replied. "Looks like you've started that process already."

"Very funny," Gunther said rubbing his hair. True his hair was thinning but he was not about to say it was because of the job.

"Personally I would rather not have my hair, one more thing to take care of," Pratt said.

"Only you would say that," Gunther said. A report from the Colonial Bound indicated that the resupply had been completed along with the transfers.

"Oh, one last thing, Captain Scott is being transferred on Ares' order," Pratt said.

"Sounds fine to me," Gunther said. "Where's he going?"

"Head of the transportation fleet," Pratt replied. "We've got four ships now including the Hermes."

"He should feel right at home then," Gunther said.

BSGBSG

Bri walked down the hallway to the pilot's briefing room. The latest report from the Arbus' base had come back. Now she thought that Commander Ares would be thinking up his next phase in the plan.

Walking in she noticed that Nall had already arrived along with Troy. Walking over to where they were she noticed that Jax had joined them as well. Commander Ares had not come in yet but most of the pilots had arrived already.

"Hey, I see you made it," Nall said to Bri as she walked up.

"Good things come to those who wait," Bri replied.

"I know, I'm still waiting," Nall replied.

"Won't happen," Bri said. "Get your mind out of the gutter, pervert."

"Hey, I can wish. A Christmas present?"

"No," Bri said giving Nall a playful shove.

"All right, thank you all for coming," Ares said walking into the room. "I'm sure that many of you have heard the latest rumors from Earth. The truth is we do not know what is going on with the Arbus. The only thing we know is that they are fighting each other. What each side wants we do not know."

Bri glanced over at Troy who seemed to already know what the Commander said. He had been in a meeting with the commander just about all morning. She also learned that General Pakrov, Captain Jones of the ground forces and the new Governor Keela also were in attendance.

"The decision has been made to continue with the plan. We are going to strike the Arbus base," he told the group. "Green squad will take the role of bombers in the first wave. Red squad will provide cover for them until the ordnance has been delivered. Both squads will be launched before we are within range of the base. The Argo and Tiger will take a different path to the base. I hope to get them looking the other direction when we attack."

Bri listened to the plan. So far things sounded well planned. She wondered what might go wrong with this mission and decided that way too many things could go wrong.

"That is the basic plan, once we are engaged then I'll give more instructions but for now assume that the vipers engage the enemy fighters. If no fighters are present then they are to attack any enemy ship in the area. Any questions?"

Bri glanced around to see if her pilots understood the mission. It seemed fairly straight forward to her. A brief thought occurred to her though.

"Commander, we're going to be launching away from the battle that will cause us to burn a large proportion of fuel before starting the fight. What is the plan for that," Bri asked.

"I thought about that," Ares said. "I think when we start to engage the Tiger will launch Gold squad. When you feel you need to refuel and rearm head to the Argo. I don't know how long the engagement will last though. Everyone has their assignment and I expect everyone to work as one."

They all acknowledge that. They were told that the fleet would head out tomorrow after the latest report from the Fire Ant. Ares walked out of the room to head back to the bridge.

Troy walked up to the front of the room.

"Everyone knows what they need to do. Now to set any rumors straight. Many of you have heard that the Arbus are at civil war with themselves. This is unconfirmed at the moment. The Colonial Bound returned to Earth with information about a battle that occurred deep in the Arbus Empire. The battle observed appeared to be between two groups of Arbus forces. We barely understand the enemy we're fighting now so we don't even know what side this other Arbus group would be. Until further information is found we continue on our path," Troy told the group.

The group broke up to prepare for battle. Nall and Bri walked over to where Troy stood. They would have to know when the attack would take place.

"Hey, so what is going on," Jax said walking up to the group.

"Not too much," Bri replied. "We were going to head on over to the cafeteria and grab a bite to eat while we can."

"Sounds good to me," Jax said.

BSGBSG

Ares walked onto the bridge waiting for the latest report to come in from the Fire Ant. The general walked up next to him.

"So, what happens after this attack," the general asked.

"I'm heading to Alpha One," Ares said. "I'm still trying to convince the Arbus that the base is our main one."

"Ah, and heading there after the attack might convince them," Pakrov said.

"Yes, this attack will be more of a hit and run type of attack. I want to leave some ships so they can report back to their headquarters," Ares said.

"Sounds a bit risky," Pakrov replied.

"I know, but I'm hoping that the rewards outweigh the risk," Ares said. He glanced out the window where the Tiger could be seen. It would be a risk and he would be risking the fleet in a gamble. But he felt that he had to gamble to figure out just what the enemy had. They had been at war for several years now and almost nothing to show for it.

"How are you going to give the illusion of a large fleet," Pakrov asked.

"A hologram," Ares said. "Our good Doctor Weaver has perfected the technology even more. We can make an illusion of ships in areas where they are not giving us an advantage."

"Won't that leave the Skartian home world unguarded?"

"I've thought about that and think the risk is worth it," Ares said.

"All right, good luck," Pakrov said.

BSGBSG

Ares walked onto the bridge waiting for the latest report to come in from the Fire Ant. The general walked up next to him.

"So, what happens after this attack," the general asked.

"I'm heading to Alpha One," Ares said. "I'm still trying to convince the Arbus that the base is our main one."

"Ah, and heading there after the attack might convince them," Pakrov said.

"Yes, this attack will be more of a hit and run type of attack. I want to leave some ships so they can report back to their headquarters," Ares said.

"Sounds a bit risky," Pakrov replied.

"I know, but I'm hoping that the rewards outweigh the risk," Ares said. He glanced out the window where the Tiger could be seen. It would be a risk and he would be risking the fleet in a gamble. But he felt that he had to gamble to figure out just what the enemy had. They had been at war for several years now and almost nothing to show for it.

"How are you going to give the illusion of a large fleet," Pakrov asked.

"A hologram," Ares said. "Our good Doctor Weaver has perfected the technology even more. We can make an illusion of ships in areas where they are not giving us an advantage."

"Won't that leave the Skartian home world unguarded?"

"I've thought about that and think the risk is worth it," Ares said.

"All right, good luck," Pakrov said.

End The Cylon Rumors

Continued in Familiar Foe


	54. Chapter 54: Familiar Foe

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Familiar Foe**

Renee glanced around at the bridge of the Fire Ant as the crew watched the space station of the Arbus. She wanted to make sure they had the best information she could give them. So far all they had found had been about a half-dozen warships.

"All right, we head back. I haven't seen anything new in the past day that might indicate something happening," Renee said.

The crew started the procedure to head back to the First fleet. Once back Renee would give her report and then Commander Ares would make a decision on wither or not he would attack. She could almost say with certainty that he would say attack.

"Any ships in our path back," Renee asked the scanner.

"No captain," the reply came.

"Good, let's head back," she said.

The Fire Ant turned around and headed away from the base.

BSGBSG

Troy looked over to where Bri sat on the bed. They had managed to get a good night's sleep and the latest word had come in that the Fire Ant had just returned. That meant that the attack could start at any time.

"When do you think Ares will say its time," Bri asked.

"Well, it only takes a few hours to reach the base and Ares probably wants to start his plan as soon as possible," Troy replied. "I have the feeling that if the report is favorable then he will order the attack rather quickly."

Troy had barely finished that statement when the order came for him to report to the bridge along with Bri. A glance at Bri and he knew that they both thought the same thing. It would time to brief the pilots as to the attack plan Ares wanted to use.

Troy replied that they would be there as soon as they could. "Well it looks like you have your answer," he said to her.

"I suppose we should go on ahead and get this out of the way," Bri said.

They quickly made their way to the bridge where Ares stood waiting for them. He motioned them on over to where he was.

"We will be there in about twenty minutes, your squadron should be ready to launch as soon as possible," Ares said to Bri.

"I'll get everyone ready then," she said turning and heading off the bridge towards the hangar.

"Troy, be prepared for anything out there. There appears to be several Arbus ships at the base. The Fire Ant just reported in that the Arbus base has about a half a dozen ships so be careful," Ares said.

"We will," Troy said.

Troy walked off the bridge headed to the hangar. He would barely have time to get into his ship before they would launch. A half a dozen ships but no clue about the type of ships.

"Here you go Captain," the head crew chief said to Troy handing him his helmet.

"Thanks," Troy said noticing that the rest of the hangar seemed ready to launch. Green squadron would be armed with missiles to attack the Arbus ships. He hoped that they would make every missile count.

"All pilots prepare for launch sequence," he heard the voice from the bridge say.

"This is it everyone, prepare to move out," Troy said. He knew that he would have to keep an eye on a few of the rookies. They had replaced the fighter squadron losses when they had taken the Skartian home world back.

"All vipers, launch," the order came.

Troy pressed the turbo button feeling his viper accelerate down the tube then out into space. Green squadron quickly followed him out of the hangar as they formed up with their wing-mates. Orders were quickly given as to who would attack what. Red squadron launched from the other hangar of the Argo and formed up in a protective screen with Green squadron. He joined Red squad in the protective screen as the vipers headed on their way towards the Arbus ships.

He noticed that so far the Arbus had not sent up any fighters other than the ones that were already on patrol. That also seemed a bit unusual to him. The Arbus had learned something when it came to war and adapted. He slightly wondered if the scout ship had picked that up on the recon trip.

The fighters though would already have someone targeting them. The fighters were quickly closing in their targets. Troy briefly wondered just when the Arbus ships would pick up the fighters and approaching fleet. His question was answered a few seconds later when the Arbus fighters turned to head towards the vipers. Green squadron however had already launched their missiles as they streaked towards the enemy ships.

BSGBSG

Ares listened to the reports being sent to him all over the bridge. The Arbus ships had begun launching fighters. That had meant that the vipers had been spotted already. He had not been surprised but had actually thought it would have happened sooner.

"Enemy weapons fire trying to lock on to the Argo," Ralph said.

"Open fire," Ares ordered. The vipers had launched their missiles so the threat to the fleet would be minimal at most. The weapons were the main targets of the Arbus fleet.

The Argo's main weapons opened fire upon the Arbus fleet. The missiles from the vipers had already done their damage. Now the Argo and the rest of the first fleet would engage in battle. The Arbus fleet seemed to be taken by surprise. The larger ships of the Arbus fleet had begun to move towards the fleet.

Ares stood there watching the ongoing battle from his scanner. The Arbus fleet seemed a bit disorganized from what he was able to see. The Arbus fleet had three Attack class ships, two unidentified ships, larger than scouts but smaller than the Attack ships along with six scout ships. The attack ships were what he wanted to destroy. The one thing he had not told anyone had been his thoughts of retreating before the Arbus fleet had been destroyed. He hoped that such a move with him retreating back to Alpha one might bring the Arbus into a trap.

The news from Earth and the Colonial Bound had made him nervous as well. He wondered just how long a civil war had gone on between the two groups. He also had to figure in his expanding fleet. He had two battlestars with a third under construction. The Enterprise would be constructed to an improved design.

"Damage to one of the attack ships is critical," Ralph said to him. He glanced at the screen as the damage overcame the ships defenses and exploded.

"All ships, prepare to retreat," Ares said suddenly. The bridge crew glanced at him with a strange look. He only repeated the order and waited a few seconds until the order was carried out.

BSGBSG

Bri turned her viper in another to a position to attack another Arbus fighter. Pressing the trigger the viper's weapons opened fire quickly destroying another enemy.

"All vipers, return to base," Troy's voice said.

This caught Bri by surprise. She had not been expecting to hear that. The attack had gone quite well.

"Troy, what's going on," Bri asked. She was not sure about the order that Troy had just given and knew that some others also would be questioning the order.

"Commander Ares had given the order to retreat. We're to return back to the Argo," Troy replied to her.

"Doesn't sound right, we've got them right where we want them," Nall's voice said.

"The commander has a plan guys," Troy replied.

Bri broke off from her fighting and headed back to the Argo with the rest of the squadron. She kept an eye on the scanner to make sure that none of the enemy fighters followed them. She did wonder as to what Commander Ares had planned. It seemed unlike the man to just leave in the middle of battle when they were winning.

Keeping a close eye out to make sure that everyone else from her squadron had already landed she lined up and landed as well. Getting out of her fighter she walked over to where Troy was standing. The crews were already working to refuel and rearm the vipers which really made her wonder what was going on.

"So, do you know the plan," she asked Troy.

"The commander wanted to try and give the impression that the raid is coming from Alpha One," Troy said. That way any attacks by the Arbus will hit a base that isn't that important to the war effort."

"Oh, I see. So why didn't he tell us," Bri asked.

"He didn't know what he'd be up against," Troy replied. "I figure that we'll be seeing more of these raids in the future."

"It will keep us on our toes then," Bri replied as they walked off the hangar bay.

"That it will," Troy replied. Bri turned to him as he caught up with her.

BSGBSG

Gunther walked onto the bridge as he had been called back. His new second in command Gary stood there looking at the scanner with a bit of a strange look on his face. Gunther wondered just what had caaused that look.

"Captain, we've encountered something really strange," Gary said.

"What is it?" Gunther asked, quickly making his way over to the scanners. He looked down and paled at what the scanner told him. "Frack."

"Ah sir, just what is a Cylon," Gary asked. There had been confusion in the man's voice as Gunther turned to look up.

"Something I had hoped not to see in a long time," Gunther replied. His mind was whirling at the implications at what this could mean. "Try and close the gap to see if we can get a good scan of that ship."

"Yes sir," Gary replied. "But we still are not sure who these Cylons are?"

"I know, but Cylons are a hundred more times deadly than the Arbus," Gunther told him. He had a thousand questions in him mind. Why were the Cylons there? That one seemed to be the largest one at the moment. The one thing that soothed him a bit had been the fact that among the 'rebel' Arbus ships was that only one basestar had been found. Were the Arbus and Cylons working together, or was the basestar manned by Arbus?

That question brought up a lot of other questions that Gunther had. He did not really think that they Arbus knew about the Colonials and their fight against the Cylons.

"Are you sure about that sir," Gary asked still a bit confused.

"Positive," Gunther replied knowing that he had to answer a few questions. He quickly made a decision as to what he would do. "I'll make a ship wide announcement soon, set course back for Earth."

BSGBSG

The Battlestar Argo arrived at the base Alpha One. The base really only consisted of one base, primarily designed for defense and with a large power generator. That powered the several holograms of ships that seemed to float nearby. The holo fleet consisted of one battlestar, two cruisers and several scout ships. Now the Argo, Tiger and several support ships arrived at the base to supplement the base's other real ships which consisted of two destroyers.

Ares stood on the bridge observing the ghost fleet. It really did look quite impressive especially now that the first fleet had arrived. The main base held three fighter squadrons as well. Ralph's voice broke Ares' concentration on the fleet in front of him.

"Commander, incoming message from Alpha One," he told Ares.

"Put it though," Ares said, waiting a few seconds until the face appeared on the screen. "Commander Ahmed."

"Welcome to Alpha One," Ahmed said. His back ground was of the middle eastern area but Ares had found the man to be extremely smart and focused to his task.

"Thank you," Ares said. "How are things here?"

"We have been quiet for now, but I suspect that it will not last," the man said.

"Then you would be correct," Ares said. "Keep an eye out for any Arbus activity. I have a feeling that they will try something real soon."

"How did the mission go?"

"Quite well," Ares replied. "We're going to be here for a few days at least. I'm hoping for an attack within the next couple of days."

"Then I will let my people know," Ahmed replied.

Ahmed signed off as Ares glanced back out at the group. He hoped that he had not taken on more than he could handle with the ships he had. The Enterprise would not be ready for a few more months still. He had a lot of things to do still. He could only hope that the Colonial Bound might have some news about this civil war that the Arbus were involved in.

BSGBSG

General Pakrov sat in the office in the orbital defense platform in Earth's orbit. The base had been recently completed much to his delight. Since finding out the clones things with the military had gone smoother and defenses were able to be built quicker than earlier. Most people approved the military spending at the moment as the Arbus still were making waves. The military had so far successfully defended the Earth and now the three bases that Earth had.

"General," a voice said making him look up. Standing in the door way was Captain Scott. He had become the head of the support fleet.

"Captain, come in," Pakrov said.

"Ah just wanted to let you know the schedule for everything," Scott said, handing Pakrov a piece of paper.

"Ah, yes, good," Pakrov said. He noted the supply ship headed to the Skartian homeworld. The rebuilding there was going very well considering how extreme the devastation had been.

"The Blue Wood should be complete real soon as well," Scott said. The Blue Wood would be the tanker that would be supplying Earth with fuel from the moon nearby.

"Good, that should free up some of the other ships," Pakrov replied.

"Ayep," Scott said. "The two supply ships will help bring supplies and people to and from them bases. Right now it's very tight with the two supply ships and four bases. Supplies are at a trickle but we need the fuel for the fleet."

"Things should pick up soon," Pakrov said. He knew that the fleet had been rapidly expanding ever since the war had started. He also wondered just what the others would say when the threat of the Cylons became known.

Scott excused himself as the general continued to think about the future. The Cyons he was sure fit in there somewhere.

"General, incoming vessel," central command said. Pakrov got up wondering who had come back now.

BSGBSG

Ares stood on the command center of Alpha One base. The center was larger than the bridge of a battlestar but then again it would serve as a command feature for the fleets stationed at the base. So far the scouts had not found anything unusual. He wondered if things really were going well for them, or if the Arbus had held back. A Civil War, he thought, would drain resources from anything else rather quickly.

"Sir, message from the Fire Ant," Ahmed said to Ares.

"Put it though," Ares said, waiting to see what Renee had found.

"Commander, we waited around for a few hours but did not see anything unusual except for a higher concentrated patrol. We managed to avoid the patrols before reporting back here," Renee replied.

"Good," Ares said. He had wondered how long it might take for a counter attack to happen. He also was prepared to quickly retreat in case the Arbus attacked in a large force. "I want you to remain on patrol and report the moment you encounter anything."

"Understood commander," Renee replied as she signed off.

"Colonel," Ares said, watching as Ralph turned towards him. "Have the viper squadrons begin patrols right away."

"Yes sir," Ralph said. He turned and walked away to carry out his orders.

BSGBSG

Pratt stood on the bridge of the Daedalius watching as the vipers flew by. He had to admit that things were looking up lately with regards to the war. The government had turned things around on the planet's surface as well. Many clones who had been discovered were actually working for the war effort even though they did not know it. The people had rebuilt much of the destroyed cities and were supportive of the war.

"Commander, incoming message from General Pakrov," his second in command said.

"Put it though," Pratt said watching as the general appeared on the screen. He wondered what the man wanted and from his appearance the man appeared to be quite nervous and in a bit of shock. "General, what can I do for you?"

"I need to talk to you in private," Pakrov said. Pratt hesitated for a second before heading to his office. The tone in the general's voice said more than anything else making Pratt wonder what was going on.

"All right general, what's going on," Pratt said sitting down in his office facing the screen.

"I'm keeping this quiet but the Colonial Bound returned just a few minutes ago," Pakrov said.

"All right, but what did they find," Pratt said having a feeling that what they found had led to the general's attitude.

"A Cylon basestar," Pakrov said.

Pratt just about fell out of his chair upon hearing that news. "What?"

"They discovered a group of the rebel Arbus and one Cylon basestar. They are not sure about much except that there is a Cylon basestar with their fleet," Pakrov said to him.

"We need to inform Commander Ares right away," Pratt replied quickly. He quickly made a decision. "Have Captain Gunther report to the Daedalius right away so he can report to Ares with me."

"I'll let him know what's going on," Pratt replied as the transmission ended. Pratt leaned back in his chair not sure about what he had just heard. The Cylons were here! That made their mission even more critical.

BSGBSG

Renee watched the scanner screen, seeing a slight blip. While it did not seem that exciting she did not want anything to happen while she was on her watch.

"Helm, take us in for a closer look," Renee said to her crew. Things seemed to be a bit stressed in the ship at the moment.

The Fire Ant quickly took off towards to investigate the sighting. It did not take long for her to realize that it was indeed a ship. The scanner identified it as an Arbus patrol ship.

"Contact," Renee said to the bridge crew. "Maintain contact but do not engage. Let's see where this ship is heading."

"Yes captain."

The ship continued to follow the Arbus ship towards the base. The closer the two ships got the more nervous Renee got.

"Prepare laser transmission," Renee said. She needed a way to communicate what was going on to Commander Ares.

BSGBSG

Ares sat on the bridge of the Argo. At times he wondered just what it was like to not sit at this seat and be a regular person. It seemed that the only time he was not on board the Argo was when he went to talk with the Earth Council.

"Commander, incoming message from Commander Pratt," Ralph said to him.

"Put it though," Ares said wondering what had happened now. "Pratt, what's going on."

"A new development Ares," Pratt replied. There seemed to be a bit of hesitation in the man's voice that Ares thought was unusual.

"What type of development," Ares asked.

"Are you sitting down," Pratt asked. This question made Ares a bit more nervous about the situation.

"Sir, incoming laser message from the Fire Ant, its captain says its urgent," Ralph said.

Ares stopped for a second wondering just which communication would be more urgent. "Commander, is Earth under attack or in danger of imminent attack?"

"Well no, but it's very urgent," Pratt said.

"Then hold for one second," Ares said, switching the communication to Captain Renee. "Captain, what have you found?"

"We were tracking on Arbus patrol ship until just a few seconds ago. We just picked up on scanners four attack class ships," Renee said.

"Only four," Ares asked. He was not too concerned with four ships, as the Argo and Tiger had taken on more than that in one battle.

"Yes sir," Renee replied.

"Have all patrol ships scan the nearby area at once," Ares said, to Ralph who relayed the message to the fleet.

"Let me know when they begin to move," Ares said

"Understood commander," Renee said.

Ares stood, knowing that there would be a lot to do in a short amount of time. Then he realized that Pratt was still waiting on the line. He activated the screen, watching as Pratt's face appeared once more.

"Pratt, can you make this fast, we have uninvited guests coming," Ares said.

"Then make room for another, Cylons," Pratt replied. Ares stopped what he was doing, and looked at the screen in disbelief.

"Cylons, as in tin cans Cylons," Ares asked.

"Yes sir," Pratt said.

"Where, at Earth?"

"No sir, the Colonial Bound came across a basestar while patrolling deep in Arbus territory," Pratt replied.

"Just one," Ares asked. He knew that they now needed information about what was going on.

"Yes commander," Pratt replied. "There is more though, Captain Gunther didn't know if Arbus or Cylons manned the ship. They feared getting too close."

"Wise decision," Ares said. "Send the Colonial Bound back out to the location along with four other patrol ships to the same area. We need to know if this is a lone basestar or not."

"I'll send the ships out at once," Pratt replied.

"Good, the Argo will return back to Earth once the Arbus attack is over," Ares said. He ended the communication then stood up. He could see a few confused faces as to why he reacted the way he did. Most in the government knew about the Cylons, or at least something about them. Now he had to inform a group in the military about the Cylons.

BSGBSG

The few Arbus ships made their way towards where Alpha One base sat. The hologram projectors were working at full while hiding behind the disguise giving a illusion of a ship were fighters bunched together making it appear as one ship.

"Have I said lately how much I dislike this," Bri said calmly. She sat in her fighter drumming her fingers on her thigh.

"Yes," Troy replied. "Only about twenty times."

"Well, one more time then, I hate this," she said.

"Heads up, incoming Arbus fleet," Colonel Ralph's voice said over the intercom.

Bri felt her heart beat pick up with that bit of news. She felt a bit more energized now that the actual battle would begin. She adjusted her grip on the flight stick checking the fighter's systems. The lst thing she wanted to occur would be a system malfunction in the middle of battle.

"Red squad prepare for disbandment."

The order came a few minutes later as she watched the incoming Arbus fleet on her scanner. The hologram continued as her fighter broke though the ghost-like image. The incoming Arbus ships suddenly found themselves without a target to go along with a squadron of vipers heading straight towards them. The two sides engaged in battle in another contest for survival.

BSGBSG

Ares watched on the bridge of the Argo as another battle raged around him. He briefly wondered when the fighting with the Arbus would stop. Once again he thought his name was a bit ironic, Ares, the Greek god of war and here he stood commanding over a fleet in another battle.

"Sir, the Arbus ships are retreating," Ralph said.

Ares thought about the fact that the Arbus were retreating with knowledge of the holograms. Then he also had the knowledge that the Cylons were out there somewhere. He had to plan for that next.

"Let then go for now," Ares said. "Recall all fighters and prepare to head to Earth."

"Understood commander," Ralph said relaying the orders though the fleet.

The Cylons were next.

End of Familiar Foe

Continued in Attack the Basestar


	55. Chapter 55: Attack the Basestar

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Attack the Basestar**

Ares listened to the report from Captain Gunther. He had returned on board the Colonial Bound. There was not much information that Gunther could provide. The basestar appeared to be fully functioning but any scans were just too far away to be accurate.

"To be honest commander we're just too far away to make an accurate scan," Gunther said concluding his report.

"It's okay," Ares replied. He glanced down then back up taking a breath. General Pakrov, Commander Pratt, Troy, Nall, Bri, Senator Sam, President Xai Chang along with a few other senators. "As many of you already know, the history of the Cylons is one of war with humanity, or at least the Colonies. This basestar is a threat to everything."

"Commander Ares," Xai said, picking up a piece of paper and tapping it on the table. "I recall you saying that the Cylons were not anywhere nearby, or were you lying?"

"Mr. President, I can assure you I don't know anything about this," Ares said. "I do know we need to eliminate the basestar now, before any technology is taken and discover if the Cylons are really part of this."

"You are planning an offensive no matter what commander," Xai said.

"If its the Argo by herself then yes," Ares said. He did not raise his voice but kept a tone of steel in it.

"I have seen such conviction many times in my life. I know that nothing can change your mind, so how can we help," Xai said finally, resting his chin on his hands.

"I've thought about that. The Enterprise undergoing trials. I would like to join it with the Argo, and the First Fleet, with the Daedalus and the Second Fleet protecting Earth. With two battlestars we stand a better chance of survival than with one," Ares said.

"An inexperienced crew on board the Enterprise might be dangerous," Pakrov said, speaking up for the first time.

"I can vouch for the fighters groups, they are ready," Bri said jumping to the defense of her people.

"It doesn't matter, this must be done. If Cylons really are here then they are a threat to Earth's survival," Ares said, looking at each person.

"When do you propose this mission," Xai asked.

"As soon as possible," Ares replied. "This is something that we cannot wait on. The Cylons must not be able to find Earth."

"Very well, I can see you feel very strongly about this so I will authorize this mission, be careful and return alive," Xai said getting up effectively ending any further discussion on it.

Ares nodded his head then got up as well. They had some planning to undertake.

BSGBSG

Bri looked out of the hangar. She could see the battlestar Enterprise following behind them. Even from this distance Bri could see the difference in the design. The Enterprise was built to a slimmer, almost sleeker, design. The ship also had better weapons to go along with a more powerful power plant.

"Hey, having second thoughts," a voice said from behind her. Bri turned to see a new member of the squad come up.

"Nope," Bri said. "Just looking at the Enterprise."

"Are these Cylons really that dangerous. I mean they're just machines," the man said.

"Donald, they killed my family when I was only five. They don't care how they win, only that they wish us all dead," Bri said to him.

"If their machines, can't we just reprogram them," Donald asked.

"Not that easy, you need the code of the machines, that and its written in another language, which no one understands, makes it a bit hard," Bri said.

"But you were able to make Earth's computers and yours talk to each other," Donald said.

"Yes, and from what I've heard from Rebecca and others, its because we have people on both sides who know the code," Bri said.

"That and we've already tried it," Troy's voice said from behind them. "The last time it almost shut out systems down. They forgot that a door, once opened, will allow things to go both ways."

"Couldn't you come up with something that blocks that," Donald asked.

"That's part of the problem, we would be fighting on their battleground. We would always be behind them in that department," Troy said. "Remember the greatest commanders pick their battlegrounds carefully, not randomly."

Bri watched as Donald walked away without saying anything. He did not look like he fully understood.

"That's going to be a major stumbling block with the Earthers," Bri said to Troy. He looked at her his face a bit confused. "They are wonderful diplomats, but how can you have diplomacy when all one group wants is to destroy you."

"Maybe not, but they might be useful in talking with the Arbus," Troy replied. "But for now we should concentrate on the basestar."

BSGBSG

Ares stood on the bridge of the Argo looking at his scanner. The latest intelligence had just come in. The report stated that the basestar was still there. There were two other Arbus ships of an unknown type. He also wondered about this faction within the Arbus.

If there really were two different factions of the Arbus then which side was he about to attack? Would one group want to help them out, or were they just at odds as to how to control the populations. The other thing that worried him was the basestar itself. Did it have Cylons on board? Would they remember the Colonials?

"Commander, all ships report ready," Aaron said, walking up next to him.

"Good, have the Enterprise ready as well," Ares said. "I want everyone to remember that if the Cylons remember who we are, we cannot stop our attack until they are all destroyed. All ships, engage!"

The Argo's shields came down as the vipers launched. Ares watched it all as he looked for any sign from the basestar.

"Can we scan the basestar yet," Ares asked.

"Not yet commander. We're almost in range though," Aaron replied. The vipers were streaking though space. Their one and only mission was to destroy anything that was Cylon.

Ares glanced down at his scanner waiting a few more seconds until he saw raiders beginning to come out of the basestar.

"Scans coming in now, Cylon," Aaron said.

Ares' blood ran cold upon hearing that. "Attention fleet, scans confirm Cylon readings, begin jamming of all frequencies. The basestar must not be allowed to escape."

BSGBSG

Troy banked his fighter, listening to what the commander had to say. There were Cylons on board that basestar. That meant there would be no retreat with this battle.

"All right, green squad, begin your attack runs," Troy said. "Everyone remember, the Cylon raiders will not break off, they will fight to the last."

He glanced down at the scanner watching as several raiders formed up. "Blue squad, protect green squad."

He had already turned his viper towards the raiders as blue squad formed up behind him.

A part of him made sure that Bri was safe even though a larger part of him knew who the better pilot really was. He watched as green squadron launched their missiles at the basestar. The pre-determined attack had already been calculated to maximize the damage the basestar would take. Cylon raiders were suddenly upon them.

Troy banked his fighter hard leaving his wingman hurrying to catch up. The move put his viper in perfect position to attack. He fired his lasers watching as the middle raider exploded.

"Quadrant six," Troy heard over the intercom. He glanced down to see several raiders heading though the vipers towards the Argo.

"Bri, finished," Troy asked.

"Just finished now, we can handle this area," Bri's voice said.

"All right, green squad pull back to protect the battlestars," Troy said as he turned his viper toward the battlestars. So far the Arbus had seemed too stunned to even engage, or they were allowing the Cylons to bear the brunt of the fighting. At the moment Troy could not tell which happened to be the truth.

BSGBSG

"Commander, we have raiders incoming," Aaron said.

Ares glanced down at the screen to see that the raiders were being chased by several vipers.

"Have all defensive batteries manned and ready," Ares said. The orders relayed to the turrets where the defenders waited.

He looked once more to see the range of the basestar. The Argo had just come into range but the Enterprise was still out of range.

"Main guns ready," Ares said. He looked over at Aaron who nodded that everything was indeed ready. "Fire!"

The Argo's main guns opened fire. The lasers streaking towards the basestar even before it had found a target to attack. The beginning attack by green squadron had targeted the sensors and main weapon systems.

Ares looked down to see what type of damage the basestar had. He could tell that many main systems were already damaged. Now all he had to do was destroy the basestar and minimize damages. A few moments later he noted that return fire started coming from the basestar. It appeared however that the scanners of the basestar were not able to lock on to the Argo. Several shots by the basestar missed giving Ares a sense that they just might win. The one thing that concerned him happened to be the fact that the Arbus had not done anything yet.

"Curious," Ares said out loud.

"What is commander," Aaron asked.

"The Arbus haven't joined the attack yet," Ares replied. He watched as Aaron glanced down to confirm what Ares had already noticed.

"What do you suppose that means," Aaron asked.

"I'm not sure," Ares said. "Right now we can't worry about that. Our main target is the basestar."

"Commander, we're receiving a message from one of the ships," Aaron said suddenly.

"Can you pinpoint the source?"

"Negative commander, it will take a few minutes," Aaron replied. "They want a cease-fire though."

Ares sat there for a few seconds thinking about that. There were Cylons on board that basestar, a group wanting a cease-fire and a secret that he had to keep at all costs. He realized that everyone looked towards him to give the next order.

"Open a frequency, I'll reply," Ares said, sitting down at the chair waiting while the communications was opened. "This is Commander Ares of the Earth Battlestar Argo, the Cylon basestar, and its raiders, must be destroyed before any cease-fire talks can begin. Only when this has happened can we talk. End communications."

"Commander, do you mean that," Aaron asked.

"Very much so," Ares replied. "If it's not destroyed it has the ability to send a signal back to the Cylon Empire notifying them where Earth is. If that happens Earth could be fighting a war on two fronts."

Ares turned to see what damage had occurred on the basestar. "Inform all craft not to attack any Arbus ship, just Cylon."

"Yes sir," Aaron replied.

BSGBSG

Troy asked for the message to be repeated. When it came back the same he wondered what had happened.

"Listen up everyone, do not attack any Arbus ship, only Cylon," Troy said to them.

"What," Bri's voice said.

"It came from Commander Ares himself," Troy replied. "I don't know what's going on either but something strange is going on."

"Strange, how about downright weird," Jax's voice said.

"It shouldn't be too hard anyways seeing how the Arbus haven't attacked us yet anyways," Nall's voice said.

Troy banked his fighter destroying another Cylon raider before replying. "Let's hope it stays that way."

The Cylon raiders continued attacking so the battle raged on. Troy watched as Bri lined up another fighter destroying it as well. Nall stuck close behind her while Troy had a new recruit as his wing mate.

"Robin, still with me," Troy asked.

"Stuck to you like glue captain," Robin replied.

"Good," Troy said. "We're going in again. Take the raider on the left, I'll take the other two."

"Got it."

Troy brought his viper around to lineup the kill shot. The three raiders were busy firing on another group of vipers. His first shot missed but the second one hit causing the raider to explode. Robin took a few shots more to before destroying her target. By then Troy had already switched targets.

"I see you still know how to shoot," Bri's voice said.

"Very funny, just wait," Troy replied to his wife.

"Promises, promises," Bri said.

"Looks like both battlestars are fully engaged," Nall said.

Troy took a quick glance over at the battlestars. Indeed the two battlestars were slugging it out with the basestar. His scanner indicated that the basestar had taken quite a bit of damage. Experience told him that the Cylon ship would not take much more.

BSGBSG

Ares watched, knowing the Cylon basestar could not withstand two battlestars. Aaron kept relaying that the Arbus were still trying to establish communications with him.

"Basestar at critical," the report came in.

Ares already knew this but watched anyways as the next salvo overwhelmed the basestar's defenses. The basestar exploded leaving nothing behind but debris.

"All right, now put the Arbus though," Ares said, turning to the screen waiting. A grey head with large black eyes appeared on the screen. "I am Commander Ares of the Earth defense fleet."

"Human, why did you destroy our ally, and greatest hope to freeing you," the Arbus asked.

"You're what?" Ares asked. He tried to wrap his mind around that fact that, according to this Arbus, the Cylons might be the best hope for the humans. It sounded way to strange for him.

"Our allies, and your Earth's greatest hope," the Arbus replied.

"Well, this is a bit absurd," Ares said. "Perhaps we should talk some more in person."

"Very well, I shall be aboard your ship shortly," the Arbus said, ending the transmission.

"This should prove most interesting," Ares said to himself.

BSGBSG

"They what," Pratt heard himself say when he listened to Ares account of the battle.

"Who did what," Pakrov's voice said floating up to where Pratt stood.

Pratt glanced down noticing the general standing there. "It seems that some of the Arbus think that the Cylons were the best hope for peace for Earth and the human race."

"I don't follow," Pakrov said.

"I know, neither do I," Pratt replied. He wondered about that statement. Ares said he would be meeting with one of the Arbus leaders soon and would report back. Pratt thought about what that might mean. Were the Cylons and a group of Arbus allies and if they were what did that mean for Earth and the Colonies.

"I think we should be on guard," Pakrov said. "We don't know what's going on and the last thing we need is for the Arbus to launch a surprise attack on us."

"I'll notify all Second Fleet commands. Any contacts will be reported in," Pratt said.

"Good," Pakrov said. "I guess I should alert Earth Gov and tell them the 'good' news."

"Good news," Pratt asked back. He wondered where the good news was in everything that had been talked about.

"The Cylon basestar had been defeated and the battlestars Argo and Enterprise survived," Pakrov said. "No need to tell them about anything else just yet."

"I hope Commander Ares knows what he's doing," Pratt said as Pakrov turned and walked off the bridge.

Pratt watched the general walk away. He had to admit that he hoped Ares knew what he was doing as well.

BSGBSG

Ares stood waiting in the hangar bay of the Argo. The Arbus shuttle had just landed. Their design seemed to vary a bit from their own. It seemed like every shuttle designer was given a basic blueprint and made minor adjustments.

The door opened allowing several people out of the shuttle. Normal Arbus stature he waited to see what they were doing. A couple of guards went forward first to check out the 'guest' to make sure everything seemed clean. They waved the commander on over.

"I'm Commander Ares, you are," Ares said, not wanting to give up an advantage.

"I am Torla," the Arbus replied. "You are human are you not?"

"Yes,"' Ares replied.

"Earther then," Torla said. "Interesting that you would fire upon those who would help you."

"From our view point there are no Arbus helping us," Ares said. "Let's get more comfortable."

Ares led the group off the hangar. He watched Torla closely to see if the Arbus gave anything away. He seemed to look at the construction of the ship as they walked down the hallway.

"Why did you only attack our ally," Torla asked as they walked.

"That's part of everything, and the reason this ship was built," Ares said, knowing that he had confused Torla.

The group arrived at the meeting room. It had been altered a bit to accommodate the smaller stature of the Arbus.

"You knew that we were smaller," Torla asked.

"This isn't our first encounter face to face with an Arbus. The last time your race pulled weapons on us," Ares said.

"I'm sorry for that, our leaders are scared," Torla replied, sitting down.

"I'll introduce everyone, this is Captain Troy, his wife Gabrielle, Lieutenant Nall, and Mike," Ares said. He had thought it over as to who to invite. It had actually been Troy who had suggest Mike be there. Ares trusted Troy and decided sometimes it was better to go along then try to get an explanation.

"I am Torla, this is Reejo," Torla said, introducing his companion. "Perhaps I should start in the beginning."

"That's always a good place to start," Troy said, speaking up for the first time.

"The Arbus are, were, an advanced race, at least we were at first. We are a very old race. Our technology advances slowly compared to later races. I think somewhere along the way we became fearful of others," Torla said. "In an effort to limit other races, out of our fear, we made sure to control other races."

"By mass extermination," Ares asked. He was quite ready to judge them all yet.

"Yes, I make no excuses for my race," Torla answered. "I cannot control what happened before me, but I can make a difference now."

"So, what happened," Bri asked.

"We, or some of us, questioned the wisdom of our elders," Torla said. "We figured that if trade and respect happened then we would have no reason to fear the younger races. We would advance alongside them, as they advanced."

"I take it others don't agree," Ares asked.

"No, a civil war has erupted. I fear we will destroy ourselves in this war," Torla said. "Our greatest hope came when we came across the machine ship."

"The ship we destroyed," Ares said clarifying the situation.

"Yes, its technology was needed to push the advantage our way. I fear now that everything has been lost," Torla said.

"Then you don't know where the ship came from," Troy asked.

"No, the robots on the ship were unlike anything we had ever encountered. We were able to reactivate many of them, enough to operate the ship and its fighters. Their history had been severely damaged in some fighting. We assumed the robots were warriors against another enemy," Torla said.

Ares sat back in his chair wondering what to tell them. What would they understand? Troy caught his attention and Ares nodded.

"What do you know about Earth's history," Troy asked, changing the subject.

"Earth, not much, they appeared on the edge of our Empire several thousand years ago. At the time their technology was inferior to ours. But humans seem to adapt very quickly. That is why we attacked them. The fighting took a while but we finally defeated them," Torla said.

"The group from Earth you defeated was only one tribe out of thirteen," Troy said. "The other twelve colonized elsewhere, and we've been fighting the Cylons now for almost a thousand years."

"Cylons," Torla asked.

"The robots, they only want to destroy humanity, and any race that is organic. They will do anything to destroy their perceived enemies," Ares said.

"You've fought them," Reejo asked, speaking up for the first time.

"The Argo, this ship, was designed and built for that purpose," Ares said.

"That would be why the humans are causing so much trouble," Reejo said more to himself than anyone else.

"Perhaps an alliance," Nall said. "Its time to change things."

"Yes, there are many on our homeworld who feel this way. The fears are deep though," Torla said, taking a second to think about the situation.

"Well, not that far away is a Cylon Empire that only wants to destroy you. Actually you are lucky that the Cylons didn't know their history. Otherwise they would have attacked you as well," Ares said.

"They have an empire," Reejo asked.

"Yes, they've destroyed several races already. We've tried to help but so far it's been a long battle. We came to Earth to find help," Ares said.

"And we, by interfering, might have doomed ourselves," Torla said looking at Reejo.

"We have no warships, but we can give you information for the classes of ships our military has," Reejo said.

Ares thought about that. Every advantage would help, but he didn't want to kill anymore than possible. Perhaps there could be another way.

"Perhaps we can help each other out," Ares said.

BSGBSG

Pratt stood by, as a new message came in from the Argo. He quickly read though the message then once more to make sure he hadn't misread it. No, Ares wanted to help out a group of Arbus.

"Well, this sure doesn't make any sense, but I'll begin the preparations," Pratt said, more to himself. Now all he had to do was inform the president.

"Commander, I'm getting an information request from a Rebecca on Nall?"

Pratt almost denied it for a second then remembered who they were. "Put it though," he said waiting only a few seconds for Rebecca's face to appear.

"Commander, I wasn't expecting to see you, I just wanted some information on Nall," she said.

"Well, we don't have the casualties yet, but I know he's safe," Pratt said to her.

"Good, that's the last time he goes on a mission without me," Rebecca said.

"What about Mary," Pratt asked. He knew about Nall's daughter, and for a brief second felt sorry for the girl, to have Nall as a father.

"She'll go with us," Rebecca said. "Or I'll tie him to the chair at home."

Pratt had to laugh at that thought. "I'm not sure if he'd like that or not."

"Hmm, right," Rebecca said.

"I'm about to send a message to the fleet, I'll send one for you as well," Pratt said.

"Thanks, commander," Rebecca replied.

"Don't worry about it," Pratt said as Rebecca signed off. Things were definitely looking differently then a few days ago.

End Attack the Basestar

Continued in Final Assault


	56. Chapter 56: Final Assault

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Final Assault**

Ares glanced down at the control room. Rebecca had taken back over the communications of the Argo once Mary had turned two. He found himself glad when she came back on board. There was a little bit of family missing on board the battlestar the last couple of years. Now the First Fleet lined up for what he hoped would be the final assault on the Arbus Empire.

"Commander, the Skartian battle-cruiser is reporting ready," Rebecca said.

"Good, inform Teela that we'll be ready in one hour," Ares said.

"Understood," Rebecca said.

"Incoming message from Commander Pratt," Rebecca said. "He says its important and private."

"I'll take it in my room," Ares said walking off the bridge towards his office. Sitting down at his desk he activated the screen watching as Pratt's face appeared. Advanced in technology had sped up communications as distances increased. "Pratt, what's up?"

"The latest news from the Colonies. I thought I should tell you first," Pratt said. Ares could see a look of disbelief in his eyes.

"What's wrong," Ares said not sure what was going on.

"It's the Cylons, they're suing for peace," Pratt siad. Ares could hear the disbelief in the man's voice.

"Peace," Ares asked. He was sure that Pratt had misspoken.

"Yes, peace," Pratt said. "It appears that they've approached Baltar, a council man with the idea of peace."

"Peace," Ares said not sure about that word. "I've been at war too long my friend, I no longer know what peace is."

"You and me both," Pratt said. "But it's there."

"After this battle we might have peace in the galaxy," Ares said. "I'll inform the crew after the battle. But go ahead and tell the others."

Ares knew that Pratt knew who those others were. They were those who came from the Argo almost ten years ago. They spent one entire year travelling to Earth, the next couple working with those on Earth to begin building a fleet that now seemed useless if it hadn't been for the Arbus. The Arbus, a race they had fought now for almost seven years.

Leaning back in his chair he wondered what would happen. New trading could happen between many races, even the Colonies. Then there was the Eastern Alliance. The last news about that group had been when the Colonial Bound crossed their space. A larger fleet had been built up with more destroyers. Ares wondered if they would even survive.

A knock on the door caused him to turn his head. "Enter," he said as the door slid open allowing Bri, Troy and Nall to walk in. "Just the group I wanted to see."

"Really," Troy asked.

"Yes, I've received news from home," Ares said.

The three others automatically understood where Ares was talking about.

"It appears that the Cylons have approached Baltar and are suing for peace," Ares said.

BSGBSG

Troy heard the words but the moment he did another vision overwhelmed him. He saw once again the bridge of the Pacifica as chaos erupted on it. The crew seemed to have been taken by surprise.

_Commander Backas stood on the bridge with a calmness that the man always seemed to have. He then turned and seemed to look right at Troy. Then he turned back to his scanner._

_"New course, mark six three five," he said._

_"But commander, that's away from the colonies," one crewman said._

_"We need to give the Galactica time," Backas replied._

The vision faded leaving Bri looking at him.

"What's wrong," she asked right away. "What did you see."

"The Pacifica is still to be destroyed," Troy replied. "Somehow what you said triggered another similar vision. Commander Backas ordered the Pacifica away from the Colonies to give the Galactica time."

"Time, time for what," Ares asked.

"I don't know, I don't even know who they were fighting," Troy said.

"A new enemy," Bri asked.

"Perhaps that's why the Cylons want peace, their fighting another enemy," Nall said logically.

"It might be, we'll have to wait and see," Troy said. "Maybe I'll get another vision."

"Maybe," Ares said. "Right now we have a fight to finish. Reejo has informed me that many on the Arbus homeworld would turn if the main fleet was no longer effective. I think we can do that now."

"It's still going to be a battle commander," Troy said. "We lost the Victorious last week by raids from the Arbus."

"I know but it also took on three battle class warships. We know that the Arbus fleet only has ten of them. Of which six are stationed in the home fleet," Ares said.

"The First Fleet only has four battlestars," Troy said.

The Warspite, Dreadnaught, Enterprise and Argo made up the bulk of the First Fleet.

"True, but the Victorious didn't have any supporting ships, or any Tiger or Leopard class heavy cruisers with it as well," Ares replied. "And with the added Gearing class anti-fighter destroyers, we have a better advantage than the Victorious did."

"I think it's the best plan commander," Nall finally said.

"If it ends this war quickly then it's a good plan," Bri said. "That and we might need that if there is a new enemy out there."

"That's a reason then for wanting to finish this mission quickly then," Ares said. "We don't know what the future holds but we can make our mission easier."

"We'll do our best commander," Troy said.

"Good, the Argo and Enterprise will close in as they are equipped with the S-metal. The Arbus haven't figured out how to improve their scanners to detect it better. Green and red squads will be the first wave. Your mission is to destroy the weapon systems of the battle class ships," Ares said to them.

"I'll let them know," Troy said.

"Good, we leave when I get back to the bridge," Ares said.

Troy, Bri and Nall walked out of the office heading straight to the pilots briefing room.

"Gather all pilots," Troy said to Bri. "We should brief them as soon as possible."

"Get right on it," Bri said as she and Nall took detours to the pilots rec room. Troy continued on to the room.

This would hopefully be the final battle.

BSGBSG

Ares walked back out onto the bridge of the Argo. The crew seemed to be in good spirits. That would help later in battle for sure. He glanced around looking for Aaron, the second in command. Aaron had not applied for advancement since he had become the second in command of the Argo. Ares had asked him about that. Aaron's reply had been simple. All the excitement occurred on board the Argo and he wanted to see it.

"Inform all ships, move out. Enterprise and Argo will lead the attack. Any word from the Fire Ant," Ares asked looking at Rebecca.

"Captain Renee reports nothing changed. The scout fleet is already in position," Rebecca said.

"Good," Ares said. He just hoped everything went according to plan. He had positioned everything to the best of his abilities to help out the fleet. Now the only thing left was the outcome of the battle. The whine of the engines meant that the fleet had gone to full power. Next stop the Arbus base of Gradas.

"Commander, permission to leave the bridge for a few minutes," Rebecca asked.

"Granted," Ares said knowing exactly where she would be going.

BSGBSG

Troy watched as Nall held his daughter. The preparations had been done, briefings finished and now the final peaceful moments had begun.

"I think she's beginning to look like her mother," Bri said.

"Think so, what do you think," Nall asked Mary.

"No," the girl said shaking her head. That caused a bit of laughter in the room. The door opened allowing Rebecca into the room. "Momma," she squealed quickly getting down heading to Rebecca.

"Are you being a good girl," Becca asked.

"Uh-huh," Mary replied.

"What about you," Becca asked. Troy noticed that this question seemed to be directed at Nall and Bri.

"Yep Uncle Twoy was telling me how he knew you and daddy were for each other," Mary said.

"I've heard that story," Becca said.

"It is a good story," Troy siad. "Love at first sight."

"My, ugh, previous boyfriend," Becca said.

"What happened to him," Bri asked.

"I heard a rumor he died in the invasion," Becca said.

"Oh," Bri said. "Well, we probably should get to the hangar."

"Yeah, we'll be there in a little bit," Troy said getting up. He and Bri said goodbye to Mary then went to the hangar.

"I never expected Ares to agree to having Mary on board," Bri said as they made their way to the hangar.

"Actually it didn't surprise me. I think he'd been feeling a bit disconnected from everyone lately," Troy said. "Mary seems to ground him. Ever noticed how much time she spends in his office while Becca and Nall are on duty."

"True," Bri said. The only thing that concerned her had been battles. Children might be killed in battle.

"Captain Troy, Bri, your vipers are ready to go," the lead mechanic said to them as they stepped onto the hangar.

"Thanks Ben," Bri said.

"You be careful out there," Troy said to her.

"You too," Bri said.

BSGBSG

Ares watched as Rebecca walked back on to the bridge. Now the time had come.

"Enterprise ready," Ares asked.

"Yes commander," Rebecca said.

"Good, launch fighters, main target, battle class ships," Ares said.

Vipers launched out of the Argo as Ares watched on the scanners. The shields came up as the weapon systems came online. The Argo went to battle alert bathing the bridge in a red glow. The scanners showed how close the Argo and Enterprise were getting.

"Entering enemy weapons range," Aaron said.

So far nothing yet. He hoped that the Arbus hadn't yet discovered them. The Warspite and Dreadnaught were still a ways behind them. In the beginning it would be two against six.

"Commander, there's seven not six battle class ships here," Aaron said.

"Seven," Ares said.

"Yes, it's in dock. Perhaps damaged," Aaron said.

"Tell the Tiger to attack it, perhaps destroying that ship and its dock will help," Ares said.

"Understood," Aaron said.

"Entering optimum range commander," Rebecca said.

"All ships, fire," Ares said. "Tell all vipers to attack."

"Yes sir," Rebecca said relaying the message to the vipers.

The Argo and Enterprise opened fire. He could tell that the Arbus fleet had been caught unaware of the upcoming attack. The few fighters on patrol were quickly overwhelmed by red squad. Green squad appeared to be closing in.

"Green squad just launched missiles," Aaron said.

Ares nodded his head. The opening phase seemed to be going well.

"The rest of the fleet should be here within five minutes," Rebecca said.

"Good, try and keep out of their scanners range to detect us," Ares said. The Argo made a slight turn as it continued firing.

"Enterprise turning with us commander," Aaron said.

"Prepare Solimite missiles," Ares said. It had been the one weapon he had held back. The Argo had a total of twenty when it left for Earth. Since then he had used seven of the precious missiles.

Aaron looked at him in confusion.

"Prepare two Solimite missiles now," Ares said. Taking out a couple of battle class ships would greatly improve their chances.

"Yes sir," Aaron said turning to relay the message to the missile bays. They had been using a form of nuclear missile but the Solimite missile packed a bigger offensive punch.

"Target acquired for missile," another member said.

"Fire!"

BSGBSG

Troy put his fighter into a hard turn avoiding laser fire from the enemy fighter. His wing mate took the enemy out as he glanced at his scanner. The Arbus ships had taken a slight beating already but several were beginning to move towards the fleet.

"Be ready, we'll be having more company soon," Troy said to his group.

Before anyone could reply a flash of light went streaking towards one of the Arbus ships. Troy knew exactly what that was. He had seen them enough in his lifetime to know what a Solimite missile looked like in space. The missile impacted on one of the Arbus ships causing a tremendous explosion.

One Arbus ship destroyed another couple to do. Several more Solimite missiles were launched causing tremendous damage to the Arbus fleet. He wondered if Reejo had been able to carry out his plan. The attack really was a diversion to help Reejo and others to overthrow the elders of the Arbus leadership.

"Fighters incoming," Troy said to the group.

They moved to intercept as a new wave of fighters came up from the planet. The Warspite and Dreadnaught flew into battle launching their fighters as well. The Tiger and Leopard ad joined the attack which seemed to be going their way.

"Skartian fighters, head to sector seven to protect the flank," Troy ordered. He saw a group of Arbus bombers headed around trying to make a bombing run on the Enterprise.

He looked down watching as his missile locked onto an enemy fighter before pressing the trigger. The missile flew true destroying the fighter quickly. Another explosion caught him off guard.

"Better watch yourself," Bri's voice said.

"Trying, but it's pretty frantic around here," Troy replied as another enemy fighter exploded. Green squadron had fully engaged.

BSGBSG

Ares glanced at the situation. Reports from the battle continued to filter in. The Arbus fleet had sustained tremendous damage already but the battle class ships had begun to counter attack. The weapons fire was erratic but enough that the battlestars had begun to take some damage.

"Two attack class ships headed our way," Aaron said.

"Status of the Warspite and Dreadnaught," Ares asked.

"Dropping out of lightspeed now commander," Rebecca said.

"Good, the Leopard, London and Moscow are to engage the attack class ships. That should keep them busy for a while," Ares said.

"Message incoming from the planet," Rebecca said.

Ares nodded hoping it was Reejo. "Put it though," Ares said.

Reejo's face appeared on the screen. "Commander, how are you doing?"

"We're holding our own, how does the mission go," Ares asked.

"We're encountering heavy resistance but we are making strides. The communications are filled with conflicting reports. Some are saying that the current government has committed sucuide already," Reejo said.

"Any way to confirm that?"

"Not without getting into the building. We're working on that," Reejo said.

"All right, keep me informed," Ares said.

The screen went dark as Ares thought about what Reejo said. If the population was in confusion then the fleet had to be as well. Perhaps he could use that to his advantage.

"Rebecca, open a channel to the fleet," Ares said.

"Channel open commander," she replied.

"This is Commander Ares, new orders for everyone. I want you to try and disable the Arbus ships. Target weapons and engines," he said. "The Arbus are in confusion, this new tactic just might help end this quicker."

Ares could see the confusion in the eyes of the crew but he wasn't doing this to win a battle, he was trying to win the war, now. He ended the communication and looked back at his scanner.

"Get me Captain Troy," Ares said. A second later Troy replied. "Is there any way to disable the Arbus fighters?"

"Well," Troy's voice said. "It's a bit harder but there is a couple of spots, why?"

"I think it might add to the confusion in the Arbus fleet is we change tactics, start trying to disable the enemy instead. It also might help out Reejo," Ares said.

"All right, I think I see what you mean," Troy said.

"Good."

BSGBSG

"Listen up, if you have a disable shot, take it. We're trying to disable the enemy now," Troy said.

"What," Bri's voice said.

"Commander Ares thinks this tactic might throw more confusion and help Reejo out," Troy said.

"All right," Bri replied. Troy watched as his squadrons followed the orders and started to disable the enemy ships. He hoped that this tactic would work.

He lined up another enemy fighter waiting a second until the disable shot could be confirmed then fired. The shot hit the fighter's engines instantly knocking the fighter out of action. The fighter drifted away leaving Troy to line up the next fighter.

Enemy fire suddenly flew past him in short bursts as an enemy had gotten in behind him. He quickly turned the viper into a hard turn knowing that the Arbus fighter wouldn't be able to keep up, both the fighter and the pilot.

"Got him," another pilot said as the Arbus fighter came into Troy's view. He noticed the fighter spinning away from him.

He realized the cleanup crews would have some work to do with disabled fighters and pilots still in them. He just hoped that the pilots were still alive.

BSGBSG

Ares watched the battle seemed to continue longer then he thought was necessary.

"Commander, incoming message," Rebecca said.

"Put it though," Ares said.

"Commander Ares, this is Reejo," the voice said. "The takeover has worked, but a new development has occurred."

"Oh," Ares said not sure what this could be.

"It seems that some in the military are not going to surrender. They would be the ones on the battle class ships. I don't know what their plans are but be careful. Many others are already surrendering to us," he said.

"Any good news," Ares asked.

"Just one, we've taken over the government," Reejo said. "It might take some time to establish control though."

"Understood, we've begun disabling ships instead of destroying them," Ares said.

"Ah, so that's what happened. I was wondering why they suddenly became distracted," Reejo said. "That will help later on for sure."

"I'll let the rest of the fleet know what's going on," Ares said.

With that Reejo ended his message leaving Ares to contemplate the rest of the battle. It seemed as if the war would finally be over.

"Commander, incoming report from Captain Troy," Rebecca said.

"Put it though," Ares said.

"Commander, the tactic seems to be working. The Arbus are confused and some have even backed off for the moment," Troy said.

"That might be two fold. I just got word from Reejo that he and his followers have taken over the government," Ares said.

"Best news I've heard today," Troy replied.

"I know," Ares said. "But we're still encountering resistance from the Arbus fleet. Their battle class ships seem to be continuing to fire," Ares said.

"I noticed," Troy said. "Many of the Arbus fighters have broken off so I can send more fighters to attack the Arbus ships."

"Then target the weapon systems. The fleet will target the engines," Ares said.

"Understood commander," Troy replied.

The communications ended leaving Ares feeling better than he had in days. The battle just might be won, here and now. Of course the next part would involve Senator Sam, the President and countless others to finalize the end of the war. He briefly wondered just who won this war.

"Commander, incoming ships," Rebecca said.

That caught Ares by surprise. "Identity?"

"Unknown," Rebecca replied.

"Alert all commands about this," Ares said. He didn't know who this group was, or what they wanted. "How many ships?"

"Approximately twenty, mostly small destroyer size ships," Aaron replied having gone to the scanner. "Appears the largest is Tiger size."

Ares thought about that. Who did the ships belong to. He only hoped they were friendly.

BSGBSG

Troy listened to Rebecca's quick words as he continued to watch the activities of the squadrons. After Rebecca finished he realized that this could become a sticky situation.

"Everyone, new orders," Troy said over the communications. "Incoming ships, about twenty, unknown allegiance."

"Great," Nall replied. "So we now get to wait until one of is shot before we fire back."

"Not my orders, the commander doesn't want any misunderstandings to occur," Troy replied back.

"I know, just stinks for us," Nall replied.

"We still have a battle to finish here people," Bri's voice said cutting into the conversation. "The unknown force isn't here yet, so we finish off the Arbus now just in case they are allies of the Arbus."

"I'll watch your butt," Nall's voice said.

Troy shook his head already seeing Bri's raised eyebrow and gleam in her eye when Nall said something like that to her. Part of him wondered what Bri would do to him next.

"Concentrate on the weapon systems, if the unknowns turn hostile then, well we'll think of something," Troy said.

"Great leadership," Jax said. "I feel better already."

"I'll think of what to do in case while you're finishing off the Arbus," Troy said.

"Very well, we'll leave our leader to his thinking then," Nall said.

Troy shook his head at the chatter. For such a dangerous situation they didn't back off. Anyone who joined the fighter squadrons of the Argo had to learn quickly the humor, or be shocked early in battle.

BSGBSG

"Unknown fleet now in attack range," Aaron said.

Ares nodded his head sitting back in his chair. The past couple of minutes he'd spent talking to the Skartian warship making sure everything there was ready as well. Now all they had to do was wait to see what side this fleet came in on.

"We're getting a message," Rebecca said.

"Arbus, surrender now and submit to the Galaxy Council's laws," a voice said in Arbus.

Ares looked across the bridge to a confused group of people. 'Galaxy Council,' he thought to himself. Something didn't make any sense to him at all.

"Any word from the Arbus," Ares said.

"Not yet," Aaron replied.

"This is your last warning," the voice said.

"This is Commander Ares of the battlestar Argo, to whom am I speaking," Ares said.

"Commander Ares, you and your people are to surrender to the /Council at once," the voice said.

"Commander, incoming message from Reejo," Rebecca said.

"Commander, the Galaxy Council is a group of races who think they have all the answers. Before the Arbus Empire has been too powerful for them to enter. It seems now that they think it's all right to impose their laws here," Reejo said to Ares.

"Let me take care of it," Ares said switching back to the other communications. "Galaxy Council, we do not recognize your authority here. This is a war between Earth and the Arbus, do not interfere."

All talking stopped on the bridge as Ares used the harsh words. Many were stunned that the commander might actually provoke war between the two new worlds.

Ares waited knowing that if war came the Earth fleet could keep this new threat at bay. They had defeated the Arbus, and he had the feeling that they knew that as well.

"The Arbus will be punished for their deeds to the universe," the voice said. "If you try and interfere you will be shot."

"And what is this punishment," Ares said. "The leaders of the Arbus government have just overthrown the old leadership. I doubt there are many left alive."

Silence greeted his words.

"What are the Arbus doing," Ares questioned.

"Everyone's stopped firing at the moment," Aaron replied.

"All right, target the nearest 'council' ship and have the fighters take up positions for attack against them," Ares said. He knew that this might provoke a war setting but he had confidence in his men and women. They would hold fire until fired upon.

Seconds ticked by in silence as the vipers approached their position and the fleet repositioned themselves for combat. Ares thought about a possible solution switching to a open frequency he transmitted.

"Arbus, this is commander Ares of the Earth to accept the Arbus surrender," Ares said waiting.

"This is temporary President Reejo, the Arbus accept preliminary surrender to the Earth," Reejo's voice said.

A few more seconds ticked by until the 'council' replied. "The Galaxy Council wishes to be present at the surrender."

"We'll give you coordinates for the surrender in a few minutes," Ares replied. Things were about to end, he hoped.

Continued in Message of Disaster


	57. Chapter 57: Message of Disaster

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

A short AN: This chapter is my personal favorite. - AJ

**Message of Disaster**

Ares sat on the shuttle that headed towards the Warspite. It was the ship he had decided to engage in talks with the Arbus, and this council. He hoped that by a show of force things would settle down. The Skartians would also be in attendance, as Allies of Earth. He still wondered just who this 'council' was. He had talked to Reejo who seemed to barely know of them.

The only thing Reejo could tell him, they were a group of races that lived beyond the Arbus Empire, who tried to push into Arbus territory several times trying to expand their influence. Their weapon were inferior to the Arbus, not to mention the Colonial or Cylons.

Next to him Bri and Troy were watching as the shuttle made its way over to the Warspite. Senator Sam sat a bit further away being the only government member in the fleet. They had decided to have him aboard to begin the process of ending the war between the Arbus and Earth.

"Did Nall really take Rebecca and Mary down to the planet's surface?" Ares asked.

"Yeah, I thought it might be dangerous, but Reejo said it would help relations out," Troy replied, causing Aries to think.

"It just might," Ares said. Mary might do more being herself than anything they might accomplish at this meeting. He had no idea what to expect from the Arbus. the few they worked with mentioned those in power were the hard liners.

"Just relax sir," Bri said.

"How do you do that," Ares asked.

"What?"

"Know when I'm tense, or nervous," Ares asked.

"Um, easy, you fidget with your buttons on your jacket," Bri replied.

Ares glanced down noticing that he indeed had been. "If it was just the Arbus, then I wouldn't care, but this Galaxy Council, I don't have any idea about them."

"We'll take care of it one point at a time commander," Troy said. "To be honest they might not even play a part at all!"

"That's what I'm hoping for," Ares said. They all felt the vibration as the shuttle landed and the whine of the engines die down leaving the rumble of the Warspite's engines in their place. "Well, after you."

The group walked out the shuttle towards the elevator.

BSGBSG

Troy walked down the corridor watching Commander Ares and his wife Bri in front of him. What he'd said to Ares had been the truth. He didn't think this council would play an important part in upcoming events.

There was something familiar to everything though as he walked down the corridor. It gave him an edgy feeling the closer he got. Something felt dreadfully wrong, but he couldn't place what it was. Entering the room he found a spot and remained quiet as Bri sat down next to him.

He watched as the senator sat down next to the commander. An aide notified him that the 'council' shuttle had landed, as had the Arbus shuttle. Reejo was on his way up with a few representatives as were the council's members. A few minutes later the door opened allowing Reejo into the room with two advisors.

"Hello Reejo," Sam said.

"Senator, this is Tekal, and Takel," Reejo said introducing the two with him. "Tekal is the new civilian governor, and Takel is the military governor."

"Tekal, Takel, this is Commander Ares of the Battlestar Argo, Captain Troy, and his wife Captain Gabrielle, both are from the Argo. They represent several factions but are trusted advisors as well," Sam said.

The door opened allowing the third group into the room. The first walked on four legs, reminding Troy more of an insect than a sentient being. The one behind him was a small looking man, with an even smaller head. It looked a bit strange but he waited to see what would happen. Sam introduced themselves once more to the new group then turned to Reejo.

"I am..."

"We know about your kind," the insect being said. "Destroyer of civilizations."

"This is an Earth warship, and you were invited," Ares said calmly, but his tone held a strength of steel in it. He did not want to start with hostility.

"Humans, didn't think they had it in them," the smaller alien said.

"And your names?" Sam asked calmly.

"I am A'Buc, President of the Galaxy Council," the 'insect' alien said. "This is my advisor, Grol."

Troy watched as Grol took a seat but A'Buc continued to stand. He was a bit taller than most humans. Troy wondered if his race had furniture, and what it might look like.

"You are aware that this meeting is to begin a peace treaty between the Arbus and Earth, and its allies, the Skartian race," Sam said.

"It will make little difference," A'buc said.

"Maybe not to you, but to us it does. We're the ones who shed our blood, we're the ones who were attacked. Where were you during all of this," Sam asked.

"Unimportant," A'Buc said. "We're here now, that's what is important."

"Not to us," Sam said.

Troy watched the war of words begin between the senator and A'Buc. The Galaxy Council members seemed almost hostile, but that might be how they always acted. He'd have to wait to see about that. The one thing he couldn't help but feel was something familiar, almost menacing going on. It bothered him, especially considering he could not place what he felt.

"You all right," Bri whispered to him.

"Tell you later," Troy said back. He caught Ares looking over at him then back towards the others. They had finally agreed upon ending the shooting war, the rest would be worked out when the Earth government finally arrived.

The door opened allowing a young man into the room. He walked straight over to Commander Ares. Troy leaned forward.

BSGBSG

Renee waited on the bridge for word that a cease fire had been agreed upon. The battle had gone better than planned. The cleanup crews were working to help out those who had been damaged. Her ship was scanning nearby space for any floating fighters that had been disabled.

"Contact," her scanner operator said. "One Arbus fighter, drifting away from the planet."

"Let search and rescue know about it," Renee replied.

"Yes captain."

Renee wondered, for the first time, if this meant the crew of the Argo might actually be able to go home. Home, it sounded strange to her. Earth had been their home for a little over eight years. With peace with both the Arbus and the Cylons their very mission was over, war had finally become a thing of the past for now.

"It'll be good to finally go home," one said.

"You have no idea," Renee replied.

"Commander, incoming message from Earth, for you alone," the communications officer said.

BSGBSG

Gunther waited on the bridge of the Warspite. He had been given command of the battlestar not long ago, and the Warspite had come though without problems. He congratulated his crew on their abilities after the battle. The war would finally be over. He wondered what would become of the battlestars. Most were under a couple of years old. The Earth had three fleets, each with at least two battlestars, two cruisers and a handful of smaller support ships, with other ships still under construction. he imagined Earth would slip into peacetime operations, and most of the ships would probably be broken up, or converted for other uses.

"Commander, report of damage," his second in command said.

"Thanks," Gunther replied. He scanned though the report. The massive armor of the Warspite stopped most damage. The battlestar was a battleship for sure. It had improved armor, but no S-metal which would have made it invisible to scanners. The Warspite was designed for battle, pure and simple.

The viper squadrons had taken greater losses. The Warspite's squadrons had lost fifteen pilots out of almost one hundred. The loss of live saddened him but he had a feeling they understood that things were different now.

"How long until repairs are complete," Gunther asked.

"Within the hour."

"Good, let me know if anything else happens," Gunther said watching as his second in command walked out. Things were going to be different for sure. He also wondered when the first flight to the Colonies would start. The universe would be a different place from now on.

Entering his office he sat down and leaned back. He enjoyed the feeling that perhaps, he might one day actually command an exploration ship, and not a warship. That would be exciting, first contact with another race under peaceful terms with the entire mission to make contact.

A beep indicated an incoming message.

BSGBSG

Nall walked with Rebecca as Mary raced around trying to catch a small creature much like a butterfly.

"She's persistent," an Arbus figure said nearby. "But she won't catch one unless they allow themselves to be caught."

"Burning off her energy," Rebecca said, watching Mary run around.

"After everything you allow your daughter to run around with so many of us around here," the Arbus said.

"We know that not everyone is responsible, and times change," Nall replied.

"True."

They turned back to watching Mary as she tripped falling down. The small butterfly creature landed on her nose, causing a small giggle and smile from Mary.

"I guess it likes her," the Arbus said.

"I guess so," Nall replied.

"Can't believe we forgot the camera," Rebecca said, as they continued to watch the scene in front of them.

"No one wanted to carry it," Nall replied. The camera was actually quite small but it would be one more thing they'd have to carry around. He turned to the Arbus standing nearby. "I'm Nall."

"U'Vis," he replied.

"Well, this is my wife Rebecca, and our daughter Mary," Nall said.

"Nice to meet you," U'Vis said.

"Pleasure is all ours," Nall replied. He turned once more to look over at Mary, who once again was up and chasing. Now another one had joined the first one. They seemed to be teaming up to keep her distracted.

"The Vallers are quite intelligent and love to play. Seems they've found someone to play with," U'Vis said.

Nall nodded his head as it seemed a few more had taken noticed. "They are not dangerous?"

"Oh no, one of the most gentle creatures on our planet. In fact having so many is an honor," U'Vis said..

Nall glanced around noticing that indeed several other Arbus had stopped to watch Mary. Many looked stunned. He wondered what other type of creatures they would encounter.

Rebecca prodded him in the ribs causing him to look over at her. She motioned her head towards a young woman dressed in an Earth military uniform. Her stride was with purpose as she walked towards them. Her attention focused on Nall. He wondered what was going on now.

BSGBSG

Jax turned in the chair on board the Argo. She sat in the rec room while green squadron had patrol duties. She looked around noticing for the first time how much had changed since her first time on board.

Gone were most of the original crew, scattered across the fleet. Colonel Pratt had been promoted, as most of them had. Many were now in command of warships. She herself had been offered but had decided to remain behind. She was a fighter pilot, not an officer to sit behind some desk.. Looking across she noticed one other in the room that was also part of the original crew, Coronus. They didn't talk much but they shared something no one else here did.

Opening the data pad she scanned though the report once more from home. Peace with the Cylons. It didn't sound possible.

"Hey captain, whatcha got there," another pilot said, sitting down next to her.

"Nothing much, a letter from home, some unexpected news, that's all," Jax replied.

"Well, you know, how about you and me," he wiggled his eyebrows.

Jax was taken back to a time before the Argo arrived at Earth. Nall had tried the same thing many times with just about everyone on board the Argo. Almost all succumbed to his charm, except Bri.

"Try someone else," Jax said, turning back to her data pad.

"So, where is home," the man asked not giving up.

"At the moment, here," Jax replied evasively.

"Career military, how sad."

"Well, I doubt you'd understand," Jax said.

"I'm just glad this war finally ended. Can't believe that there are races like the Arbus out there. I always thought that the more advanced race would be peaceful," he said.

"Not what I've thought. I thought they'd be just like anything else. Some would be warlike, others peaceful," Jax said. "Kind of like the Skartians, more peaceful than warlike, yet the Arbus seem to more warlike."

She quietly thought about the data that the Cylons wanted peace. She wondered what was up back home at the Colonies. The Cylons had been at war with the humans for a thousand years and never wanted peace, even when at one point it appeared the humans were going to win. She wondered what had changed, if anything. Her data pad beeped once indicating she had more mail.

BSGBSG

Pratt stood on the bridge of the Deadalus orbiting Earth. Reports had come back from the Argo that the battle had ended. Now the President along with his staff were boarding his ship in preparation for travel for the final surrender.

"Commander, President Xai's shuttle is on its way up," Amy, his second in command, said to him.

"Then I'll be in the hanger," Pratt said. He turned to walk off the bridge when the communication's officer yelled out to him.

"Commander, we're getting something strange here," he said.

Pratt walked over to see what type of communications had been received. He walked over to see that the Daedalius had received a coded laser transmission. No other marking other than it was Colonial in origin.

"Strange," Pratt said. He quickly took the communications officer seat looking at the screen. He typed a few commands as the computer translated the message. He stared in shock at what he saw.

"Commander," Amy asked.

"Go down to the hangar, bring the President to my office, we have a problem," Pratt said transferring the message to his office recoding it again.

He walked off the bridge towards his office leaving a stunned bridge crew behind wondering what had happened. He could hear whispers from several people already stating different opinions from the Arbus had defeated the fleet to something about this Galaxy Council. He didn't say anything.

Walking into his office he sat down bringing up the screen once more. There the eerie words stared back at him.

"Cylons betrayed peace, fleet and colonies destroyed, Galactica alone."

BSGBSG

Pratt wondered at the words on the screen. The news was possibly the worst he'd ever encountered in his life. He did not realize how long he stared at the words until the door chimed, indicating that the President had arrived. The door opened as the president walked in and sat down on the other side of the desk.

"Commander, everything all right," Pakrov asked walking in behind Xai.

"Have a seat, and no, every things wrong," Pratt replied.

"What's happened, the Arbus didn't follow though," Xai asked.

"No, the armistice didn't go through," Pratt said. "It's not much of a message, but the implications are enormous."

"The Cylons, I thought they were suing for peace," Pakrov asked confused.

"I just received this message," Pratt replied. He turned the screen so they could see it. "It's from the battlestar Pacifica, Commander Backas ship. He wouldn't send such a message without cause."

"What's this mean then," Xai said.

"I'll have to talk with Commander Ares, but it means our mission has failed, the colonies have been destroyed," Pratt said in a quiet voice. "I need to let the others know."

"So a panic can start," Xai asked.

"No, because they deserve to be told right away, that's their home. They fought to defend it. Think if the roles were reversed," Pratt said typing a message out while waiting for the reply.

He finished his quick message then turned to Xai. The man sat there looking pensive for several seconds.

"Go ahead," Xai said. "Let Commander Ares know we'll talk about this when the Deadalius arrives."

"Fair enough," Pratt said. He put all those who had been on the Argo to receive the message then sent it.

BSGBSG

Troy watched as Ares took the data pad over the protests of A'Buc, and read it though. Without emotion, he turned handing it to him. They made eye contact then down to the data pad. This was the message Troy had dreaded, what he'd been feeling as it increased in strength before looking down to read it.

Troy glanced down stopping at the message that had come from the Pacifica. A sinking feeling came over him as he read it.

"It came true," Troy said to Ares.

"I never thought I see the day," Ares replied.

Troy handed the pad over to Bri who also scanned though it. He watched as her mouth sent open in a silent 'o' as she looked up.

"You're mom and dad," she asked. The silent question in her eyes.

"Don't know," Troy replied honestly. He had not even thought about that yet, the magnitude of the situation beyond comprehension.

"I'm sorry, but we're trying to discuss something here," A'Buc said. They appeared to be the only ones who didn't seem to gasp that Ares, Bri and Troy were not from Earth.

"What's wrong," Sam asked.

Ares handed him the data pad. Troy watched as Sam went pale at the news.

"The Cylons, would they know about Earth?" Sam asked.

"That I don't know," Ares replied.

"I demand to know what's going on?" A'Buc said.

"You want to know, fine, my home, my family, everything I knew has been destroyed," Ares said.

"Well of course, the Arbus..."

"Not by the Arbus, compared to this enemy the Arbus are saints," Ares said.

"The Cylons," Reejo asked. His voice filled with understanding.

"Yes, it seems they finally won that war," Troy said quietly.

"Who are these Cylons," A'Buc asked.

"A race of machines my people have fought for a thousand years," Troy replied before Ares could.

"The Earth hasn't been at war with anyone," Grol said.

"Not Earth, the Twelve Colonies. Earth is actually one of thirteen colonies from Kobal, the origin of humankind. The Cylons don't care only to eliminate all flesh races," Troy said.

The room was quiet at that statement. Troy glanced at Are and they understood that things would be different. Plans would have to be made.

BSGBSG

Renee glanced at the screen opening up the message. Her sudden good mood vanished as quick as it had appeared. She stood not believing what she'd seen. The Colonies and the fleet were gone. Well, not completely gone according to the message the Galactica had survived, but was alone.

"Ma'am," one crew member asked.

"Just some bad news from home," Renee said standing. She turned back to her crew. Most were now looking at her strangely. She knew that many didn't understand however a few did.

"Captain, what's wrong," her second in command asked.

"They're gone," Renee said to him. "Destroyed."

She watched as he frowned a bit then seemed to understand. "The Colonies?"

"Gone."

"Why don't you go to your office, I'll continue here and let you know when Commander Ares makes contact," he said to her.

"Good idea," Renee said. She walked off the bridge in a state of shock.

BSGBSG

Gunther opened the file wondering what Commander Pratt would be sending to him. Perhaps it was information about the peace treaty between the Colonials and the Cylons. Opening the file he read the first couple of words stopping in disbelief at what he saw.

The words stared at him but he almost refused to believe it. The Colonies had fallen! Five battlestars were gone, well, it stated that the Glactica had survived but there was no proof that the ship had indeed survived the horror.

The war with the Arbus had just finished, and with good news as well. Reejo seemed to be a leader who cared about others. A new change to the Arbus way of thinking, one that Reejo had stated many thought. Now instead of a peaceful voyage back to the Colonies to reunite long lost halves of humanity, they might be on the way to save it.

BSGBSG

Nall watched the young woman approach them. She walked right up to him.

"What's wrong lieutenant," Nall asked. The look on her face seemed a bit strange to him.

"Well captain, I just received a message to relay to you from the Argo. I hope you understand it better than I do," she replied.

"Go on ahead then," Nall replied.

"All right, they said to tell you that the Colonies have been destroyed, the fleet was destroyed and the Galactica is alone," she told him.

Nall went still at what he'd just heard and asked her to repeat it. She did and the message didn't change. He looked over at Rebecca who had an understanding look in her eye.

"Gone," he said. "Did they say how?"

"No sir, does this make any sense to you," she asked him.

"Yes, it means my home has been destroyed," Nall replied. The woman looked at him strangely once more. "I'm not talking about Earth. I come from one of twelve world inhabited by humans. For a thousand years we've been fighting against a race called the Cylons. Now it seems they've won."

"But the Cylons are just a made up training race," she replied. "To help us with our tactics."

"No, their real, and dangerous," Nall replied to her. "Thank you for tell me. I'm going to the shuttle and see if there's any more information."

"Of course," Rebecca said.

Nall gave Mary a hug then walked away towards the shuttle hoping they'd have more information for him.

BSGBSG

Jax opened the file scanning it thought while the guy continued to try and hit on her. His voice faded away as she read the message. A bit of shock went though her system at the words, though she wasn't that surprised by it. She had thought a treaty with the Cylons was strange, now she understood what a ploy it had been.

Glancing up she noticed Coronus walking towards her. She could tell by the look in his eye that he'd either heard or read the news. Looking over at the man sitting next to her who had tried unsuccessfully to gain her attention.

"Will you excuse me," she said. She didn't wait for a reply instead got up motioning for Coronus to follow.

"You know," he asked once they were in the corridor.

"Just read it," Jax replied. "Can't say it surprises me though."

"Really," he asked her.

"Nope, the Cylons will do anything to win, it's their nature, even to bend or break rules of war," Jax told him. "Remember the battle of Hades?"

"Ah yes, the human shields," he said.

"They deliberately used human prisoners to shield their ships while continuing to fire," Jax said.

"If it hadn't been for Commander Zeus we'd have lost that battle," Coronus said.

"And now, it seems, they've pulled the ultimate deception," Jax told him.

"I was looking forward to a peace. Did you have anyone back home?"

"Nope, my older brother died on the Pacifica a week before I graduated from flight school, you," Jax asked him.

"A sister, on Capricia. She was a nurse. I told her about my mission and asked her to come, but she wanted to remain. She'd fallen in love with one of the doctors. Seemed like a good man," he said to her. "I hope to know one day what happened to her now."

"Maybe she survived," Jax said.

"Under Cylon rule, they wouldn't last the year it'd take for us to return."

Jax realized that he was right about that. She wondered what Commander Ares would say about all of this, if anything. She was sure he knew about it by now. If the Galactica survived then what would they do.

BSGBSG

Captain Scott relaxed on board the ship Colonial Bound. The ship had just finished taking on supplies when he was ordered to the bridge. Walking up there he noticed the crew standing there waiting for him.

"This just came in Captain," his second in command said.

"Let's see laddie," Scott said. He figured the ship would be heading towards the Colonies to prepare for diplomatic relations between the Colonies and Earth. He scanned though the message then scanned though it again to make sure he hadn't misread it.

"Captain?"

"Have all non-essential personal offloaded now. Stock up additional fuel and food supplies, non-perishables that sort of thing and set course for the refueling station on Centari One. I want the list quickly, and when I mean non-essential, the bare minimum to run the ship. The fewer on board the better," Scott said

"What's going on captain?"

"Search and rescue laddie, for the Galactica of the Colonies," Scott said. "We leave the moment everything's ready."

He walked off the bridge knowing that the next couple of hours would be hectic, followed by a boring couple of months for the voyage to the Colonies.

Continued in Old Friends


	58. Chapter 58: Old Friends

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Old Friends**

Ares walked back into the meeting room aboard the Argo. President Chang, Pratt, Pakrov, Robert, and Sam were all waiting for him. The meeting with the Arbus had gone better once Senator Sam had been able to talk with just the Arbus. He didn't think the Galaxy Council posed any threat, they just wanted to be included in things. They also thought they were more powerful than they were. If the Arbus had been able to keep the council at bay then the Earth military would be able to keep them at bay as well.

"Gentlemen, we have a problem," Ares said sitting down. He didn't have to explain, they all understood what it was.

"I've taken the liberty to send the Colonial Bound to the Colonies to assess the situation," Xai stated.

Ares sat back knowing that something was being done. He also knew that the scout ship wouldn't have the supplies to make it back.

"How are the supply ships doing," Ares asked.

"We have six ready to go. They can handle operations for several months. Two fleet tankers are also ready," Pakrov replied.

"We would be able to send about ten warships with six supply ships, including the two tankers," Pratt said.

"Well then, I suggest we put a priority on supply ships at once," Xai said. "If we are to help we'll need a way to supply our troops."

"What about the population?" Robert asked. "There will be many questions to answer."

"Yes, but the Arbus destroyed much of our history. The Atlantian ship has confirmed that it was part of the thirteen tribes. In fact it's been hard keep that a secret," Pratt replied. "Perhaps it time to make that public, then see what the people say."

"It might help," Xai said.

"You know, a decade ago anyone who heard this would state the government was covering a conspiracy to keep military expenses up," Robert said. "Ironically this time we're telling the truth, and it seems people understand."

"Perhaps humans on Earth have finally grown up my friend," Ares replied. "They can now spot the important, from the unimportant."

"True, but I think perhaps we should send begin to send the fleet to the Colonies," Xia said. "We're in a position to help."

"Perhaps start making bases along the way," Pratt said. "The Skartians have already pledged their help to us with this. They're great builders, has something to do with that no sleep thing."

"If their willing, then we'll begin operations," Ares said. "The Colonial Bound is already on its way. Next I think we should start building bases towards the Colonies. Anyone have any suggestions."

"Well, there was that system a week away that could make a good base," Pratt said.

"Yes, if we start building that up now, it would make a good staging point for the next base and to launch the fleet," Ares replied.

"I'll ask the Skartians if they are willing to help," Xia said. "Pakrov will be in charge of the base construction, Ares, I think you'll want to head the fleet heading back to the Colonies, correct."

"Yes," Ares said.

"I would like to keep Commander Pratt for homeland defense," Xai said.

"I can handle that, make sure the fleet remains trained, and new ships are brought into the fleet. Basically the same job I've done for the past year," Pratt replied.

"We've got our jobs, let's get going," Xai said.

BSGBSG

Troy watched with Bri as Mary played around in the rec room of the Argo. They had watched her for Nall and Rebecca while they were on duty.

"So, what's going to happen next," Bri asked.

"I don't know," Troy replied as Mary ran in a circle to the amusement of a couple of other pilots.

"Hard to believe that some people are so easily amused," Bri said. "You'd think adults would be more sophisticated than watching a child run around in circles."

"We are," Troy replied.

"Well yeah, but we're supposed to be watching her," Bri huffed back.

Troy watched a bit more wondering what his parents would say to this. He'd thought of them a bit but so far didn't have anything else to go on. He hadn't had any new visions lately and he wondered if that meant something good, or bad.

"When do you think we're going to be leaving," Bri asked.

"Well, CB1 is approaching completion," he said, referring to the slang term for the new base. People had begun calling it Colonial Base One, or CB1, for short. "We're to leave after that."

"What about the people," Bri asked.

Troy thought about that. The people of Earth had been told much about what had happened, and the history of the Colonies. Some thought it was a conspiracy, but to others it answered so much. The conspiracy's didn't hold up well against so many truths.

"I think after everything they're taking this in stride pretty well," Troy said.

"I wonder if the commander has finished what ships are going to be going," Bri said.

"The Enterprise and Argo, cruisers, Leopard, and Hornet, along with the destroyers London, Moscow, Calgary and Houston and the scout ships Fire Ant and Emerald," Troy said.

"To go with the six supply ships," Bri said. "Sixteen ships, I wonder what this mission will bring."

"That's a good question," Troy said. He didn't know himself.

BSGBSG

Troy looked across at the pilots for the Argo. Many were pilots that had come with the Argo. Jax, Nall and Bri were on board the ship and he was sure that Gunther would've taken his place if he wasn't put in charge of the Enterprise. The transfer from the Warspite to Enterprise had been mutual.

The pitter patter of small feet running across the deck caused him to turn. He already knew who it was. Mary came running across the deck straight for Nall. He watched as Nall bent down and picked her up. Such a long trip and Ares had made some exceptions to the rules. Some families were allowed. Most were on the supply ships because of the extra room. The voyage itself didn't concern anyone. Supplies would be plentiful for a trip to the colonies and back with the supply ships. It was the unknowing of what they'd find that kept some from going.

"This will be some trip," Bri said walking up next to him.

"Not quite the homecoming many of us expected," Troy said.

"I don't know, in a way we're still doing our original mission," Bri said.

"I guess, are you packed," Troy asked.

"Didn't have much. Nall and Rebecca had to pack more than I did," Bri said.

"Yeah, clothing for one. Of course the ships are stocked with clothing for all sizes," Troy said. There was not telling if another child would be born with the families along. One of the supply ships had a couple of room converted to entertainment purposes allowing some time off and a place to go for entertainment.

"This will be a different trip, that's for sure," Bri said.

"Hopefully its a short, successful, trip," Troy said.

"That would be nice," Bri said.

"Any word from the Colonial Bound," Nall asked. Joining the conversation.

"It called in a couple of days ago, didn't report anything new," Troy replied. The ship had left a month ago while the Earth government concluded the negotiations with the Arbus and everything else. The Galaxy Council had been allowed some influence just to keep peace. One they fully understood the magnitude they quieted down a bit.

"If the Galactica did survive any idea where it might go," Bri asked.

"Commander Ares is working on that," Troy replied. He thought the same thing.

BSGBSG

Ares glanced down at the screen one more time looking at the words. He had read up about the commander of the Galactica hoping to find a clue as to what to expect once the Argo and the fleet arrived.

Commander Adama, he is, was, a member of the Council of Twelve, a competent commander, respected by others and a good leader. Ares had meet the man once a couple of years before the Argo had left. The man seemed to be everything the words told him to be.

He also noticed two sons, a daughter and a wife. He wondered how his family had survived the holocaust at the Colonies.

"Commander, the fleet is ready to move out," Aaron's voice said over the communicator.

"Very well, begin," Ares said looking out the window at the small world that currently had CB1. The Skartians were already working on CB2. If they kept this up then the supply chain to the Colonies would be easy. Two new supply ships had been laid down and crews were working around the clock to finish them.

"Incoming message from Doctor Leaver," Aaron said.

"Doctor, what can I do for you," Ares said.

"I just wanted to wish you good luck commander," Leaver said. "I wish I could go with you this time."

"I understand," Ares said. "But it's not often you get a chance to study our past."

"Hopefully more will be understood when you get back," Leaver said.

"We shall return," Ares said. "We'll be sending updates once a week."

"I'll have to tell Commander Pratt to relay them to me then," Leaver replied.

"I hope you've finished exploring the Orion when we return, frack, it might even be operational," Ares said.

"That's the plan," Leaver said referring to the old Atlantian ship that had been discovered on Centari One.

Ares signed off knowing that for the first time in several years the scientist could really work on the old ship. The plan was to make it operational again. Ares knew that Leaver was working hard to understand the power plant of the old warship, and if anything could be discovered from it.

The engines of the Argo came to life reaching the familiar whine of full power. He glanced back out of the window watching as the planet slowly started to fade away. Now would be the long voyage to the colonies and an undecided future.

BSGBSG

Captain Scott rested in his quarters. The Colonial Bound had been in transit now for almost six months. They still had another three months to go before arriving at the Colonies. So much could have happened that he wasn't sure what to expect. The one thing he was sure about was avoiding a fire-fight. They had just passed the Alliance space with no problem. The scans there seemed to indicate they were now at war.

"Captain to the bridge," the speaker said.

He heard no urgency in the voice as he got up. That meant usually some sort of contact had been found. The S-metal was a god-send to the ship allowing it to avoid anything else.

"What's going on?" Scott asked.

"Scanners picked up a target."

"Identity?"

"Defiantly Cylon, basestar," the reply came.

"Heading," Scott asked.

"The course is towards this planet," the man said pointing towards small planet that was in a direct path from the Colonies to Earth.

"Any indication they've spotted us?" Scott asked.

"No sir."

Scott wondered what the Cylon basestar was doing this far away from the Colonies. The Alliance appeared to be intact, perhaps the inter-fighting meant that the Cylons wouldn't interfere with them.

"Prepare a signal back to Earth of our findings," Scott ordered. "We continue on our mission. We're to find the Galactica."

BSGBSG

Pratt glanced at the construction yard from the bridge of the Daedalus. The construction techniques had sure improved using computers from Earth even though the ships used a primitive system. That had been an argument for a while but after several ideas it was decided to keep the current situation until contact had been made.

"Incoming message from the Colonial Bound."

Pratt walked over to see what the message was. The messages from the Colonial Bound were more infrequent than the Strike Fleet. Commander Ares continued to give weekly reports since he had left. So far the fleet appeared to be making good time.

He read the message from Captain Scott quickly walking over to the map to see where the Cylon basestar was.

"News?"

"A Cylon basestar, here," Pratt replied. "Send this to General Pakrov and President Xai at once."

"Yes sir."

BSGBSG

Commander Ares watched from his post as another month had gone by. They would be approaching the Eastern Alliance once more. The last time he'd been though their territory the results hadn't been peaceful.

"Any word from our patrols?" Ares asked.

"No commander," Aaron replied. "We're still waiting for word from them."

Ares had hoped to avoid any of the Eastern Alliance destroyers. He didn't want to get into another fight with them. The last time the Argo had destroyed about four of their destroyers. The Argo had split from the area rather quickly after that.

The entire journey to Earth seemed like a lifetime ago, yet really it had only been less than ten years ago. Then he thought about the last meeting he'd had back at the Colonies, with Commander Cain. He'd been saddened when he learned of the Fifth Fleet's destruction.

It really was a shame that they lost such a great commander. He wondered if Cain ever understood how much sending the Argo to Earth would help humanity in the long run. Sighing he looked at the screen knowing that they were approaching the point where the Colonial Bound had spotted a Cylon basestar. He would also have to wait to see what the patrols uncovered before sending one towards that spot.

BSGBSG

Troy banked his viper in a tight turn to begin another leg of the patrol. Bri was with him this time on patrol as they continued on their way.

Glancing back a bit he spotted her viper as they made sure the local area around the fleet was clear. Right now they were opposite of the Alliance checking out to make sure there wasn't any destroyers this far out that might surprise them.

"Troy, check your scanner," Bri's voice suddenly said breaking the silence.

Troy glanced down expanding the view until he noticed a blip on the edge of the scanner. He quickly brought the war book up hoping to identify the ship.

He watched as the computer scanned though the list before stopping. Now he stared at the screen in shock.

"Let's get this information back to the Argo, now," Troy said.

The two vipers banked again heading back to the Agro at full speed.

BSGBSG

"Commander, incoming vipers, very fast," Rebecca said.

Ares walked over to the scanner watching as the patrol came back too quickly for Ares' comfort.

"Alert the rest of the fleet, be ready for anything," Ares said.

"Yes sir," Aaron replay.

"Tell those pilots I want them up here right away," Ares ordered. He knew the patrol was piloted by Troy and Bri. He figured that something had to be wrong for them to be heading back at a high rate of speed.

He only had to wait a few moments until Troy and Bri walked onto the bridge. He watched each of them as they walked over to where he stood.

"Commander, I think you'll find this interesting," Troy said.

"I hope, you rode your turbos all the way here enough for me to have the fleet on alert, I hope it's good," Ares replied.

"We've found a battlestar," Troy said.

"What, where," Ares asked.

"From the direction we came from," Troy said.

"Turn the fleet in the direction of this battlestar. Then we'll launch another group of fighters to check out the ship, it might be the Galactica. Troy, Bri you're in charge of that mission," Ares said. "Also have a shuttle ready, they might need some help."

The group quickly went off with a renewed purpose in their steps. They were about to receive the information they wanted since they left.

BSGBSG

Troy and Bri, along with Jax and Nall were slowly approaching the battlestar. Even from this distance they could see the damage the ship had taken. Troy thought it was amazing the ship even survived. The hangar facing them appeared unusable, and it looked like the engines were only working at half power.

"Looks like it was in quite a fight," Bri said.

"It does," Troy replied. It was time to see if anyone was still alive on it. "This is Argo patrol to unidentified battlestar, come in?"

He waited several seconds still approaching the ship. Nothing came back on the intercom.

"Nall, you and Jax see what the situation of the other hangar is, we'll go from there," Troy said.

He watched as the two quickly went around to the other side.

Looking back at the shuttle with Commander Ares, which Troy still didn't think was a good idea they waited for the results.

"hangar appears to be intact, at least the landing bay, looks like most of the launching bays have been damaged," Jax replied.

"Jax, look," Nall's voice broke in suddenly.

Troy waited in silence wondering what they had found. As the seconds ticked by he began to grow uneasy at the silence.

"It's the Pegasus," Nall finally said.

BSGBSG

Ares heard the announcement stunned at what Nall had said. The Pegasus was Commander Cain's battlestar. He had to know what had happened.

"We land, take us to the landing bay and land. "Troy, if you can land go on ahead and do so."

Ares watched as the other hangar bay came into view. He wondered how long the battlestar had been in this condition. Even better was how had it survived?

The shuttle landed after two vipers had landed. The door opened allowing Ares out of the shuttle. Off to one side Nall and Jax were climbing out of their vipers after moving them out of the way. Troy and Bri completed their landings as well as they joined him. The small group including the doctor of the Argo, Doctor Hans Wiets glanced around. The landing bay was in disarray with damage. But there was evidence of some repairs having been done.

"Let's head to the bridge, but be careful," Ares said as the group began heading off the hangar.

The group rounded the corner when noise could be heard. Ares watched as Troy raised his hand in silence. They might be aboard a Colonial battlestar, but they didn't know how long it had been there, or who else might be on board.

BSGBSG

Troy glanced at Nall who nodded his head. He then glanced back at the rest of the group.

"Nall and I will check it out, stay here and wait for our reply," Troy said to them.

Troy began slowly walking down the damaged corridor towards what he figured was one of the larger living quarters of a battlestar. The door appeared to be open and he could star to hear voices as he approached.

"I thought the scanners showed something, but they failed again," a male voice said.

"Communications," a raspy almost familiar voice said.

"That's still down, Victor is working on the part, but its slow." the first voice said.

"Alert everyone we might have company then."

Troy had thought where he'd heard that voice before. Glancing over at Nall he saw a blank look. Troy continued to then realized who it was.

"Commander Cain," Troy said suddenly walking towards the door. He ignored Nall's shocked look and frozen appearance as he looked into the doorway.

Inside were two men, dressed in Colonial uniforms, one in a bed the other, a blonde haired man sitting nearby. Both glanced over at them in shock and surprise.

"Commander Cain," Troy said walking slowly towards them. He had holstered his weapon the moment he'd figured it out.

"Who are you," the blonde said.

"Perhaps there someone who'll be able to explain this better," Troy said. "Nall, get the commander."

BSGBSG

Ares walked with Nall and the rest to the doorway where Ares looked in. On the bed was Cain and Ares noticed that the man didn't look that good.

"Doc, take a look," Ares said quickly as he walked into the room.

"By the gods, Ares," Cain said.

"Commander, you know this man," the blonde haired man said.

"Know him, I almost trained him, but he shouldn't be here, unless-"

"We got a message that the Colonies had been attacked, and the fleet destroyed," Ares said.

"One battlestar won't make a difference," the blonde said.

Ares grinned a bit, he had much to tell him as he looked over at the doctor. Ares noticed the grim look on his face though.

"I'm sorry sir, perhaps if we were back home, he'd stand a chance," Hans said.

The news hit them all heavily with the knowledge that the greatest commander of the Colonies would die.

"Leave us," Ares said. His men walked out of the room but not before Ares had one last command for Troy. "Find out what supplies they need, then get in touch with the fleet and get it over here."

"Yes sir," Troy said.

"Go on," Cain said to his second in command. "They are friends, gone for a long time, but appears they're home now. They'll be able to take care of the Pegasus."

Ares watched as the man left the room then turned to Cain.

"Commander Ares, I never thought," Cain said his voice still raspy.

"What happened," Ares asked. "Last I heard the Fifth Fleet was destroyed?"

"Almost, the Pegasus survived," Cain said. "But what happened to you? What fleet strength do you have?"

"With me I have two battlestars, two gunstars, four destroyers and two scout ships along with six supply ships," Ares said.

"You found Earth, the thirteenth colony?"

"Yeah, and fought a war against a group called the Arbus," Ares said. "The Earth has a defense force of over eight battlestars, consisting of three fleets not including support ships and smaller warships."

"Then I have a new mission for you," Cain said. "Find the Galactica, she's leading a group of over a hundred civilian ships. They're all that's left of the colonies."

"Then the Galactica did survive, any idea as to where," Ares asked.

"They are trying to find Earth, like you," Cain replied.

"That makes things easier. My first priority is to get the Pegasus in shape to make the voyage back to Earth," Ares said.

"We'll be fine," Cain said.

"You're probably about to run out of food, fuel, and other supplies. We've got the supplies, and the fleet is on the way," Ares said. Already he figured on the Houston providing escort to the disabled battlestar after gaining a report of how damaged it was. "I'm going to see how my people are doing and if the fleet is in communications range yet."

He watched as Cain nodded his head. He then went off in search of Troy.

BSGBSG

Troy glanced over at the blonde man.

"I'm Troy, this is my wife Bri, and Nall and Jax," Troy said to him as they walked to the bridge.

"I'm Tolen, he replied. "I guess with Commander Cain down I've been acting commander."

"How many are on board?" Bri asked.

"Fifty-two," Tolen replied.

"That's way below a normal complement," Troy said.

"Well, most of the non-essential crew went to the Galactica, including our pilots, medical staff, most of the launch crew, we went into battle with very few people," Tolen said. "And I'm sure that everyone who served on the Pegasus wanted to stay."

"So what happened," Nall asked as they walked onto the bridge.

Troy glanced around noticing that the bridge looked close to what one of his last visions looked like. He turned to Tolen.

"You took on more than one basestar," Troy replied.

"We actually took on three, destroyed two before Cain ordered the brilliant maneuver,"Tolen said. "His original plan was to destroy as many basestars as possible, hit light speed, then turn around and rejoin the Galactica. The Pegasus didn't hold together very well and our maneuvering thrusters were damaged not allowing us to return to the Galactica."

"Communications and scanners," Troy asked.

"Damaged, we're working on repairing them, but the situation is getting pretty bad," Tolen told them. "Who are you? The last Battlestar Argo was destroyed over fifteen yehrens ago."

"True, but Commander Cain and a few others secretly commissioned a new battlestar naming it Argo. Its mission was to find Earth," Troy said thinking about that day almost ten years ago. "Its crew was mostly orphans, because there was no telling how long we'd be gone."

"Earth?" Tolen asked.

"Yeah, took a year to find it, sorry I mean a yehren, got used to Earth terminology," Troy said. "Our mission was to prepare Earth for the Cylons, then hopefully bring back a fleet to help the Colonies. Kind of like a supply base out of the reach of the Cylons."

"That's incredible, and if it was anyone but Cain who thought of it, I'd have said you were crazy, but with everything, I believe it," Tolen replied.

"How are things," a voice said from behind them.

"No communications, or scanners, only about fifty people aboard," Troy said.

"Tell everyone to come to the hangar then," Ares said. He turned and walked off the bridge.

Troy could tell that Tolen wanted to argue so he stepped in. "Tolen, Commander Ares wants to help. Cain was a friend to many of us. And we need to work fast. The Eastern Alliance might have spotted you already."

"Eastern Alliance?"

"A colony of humans who are not very friendly," Bri said.

Tolen went over to gather the remaining crew and head to the hangar.

Continued in Consequences and War


	59. Chapter 59: Consequences and War

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Consequences and War**

Ares glanced out across the deck of the hangar at survivors of the Pegasus. They looked a bit rough, but he couldn't blame them. He also wasn't about to take over their ship, but he wanted to help.

"Colonel Ares," a voice said causing Ares to turn to towards the voice. A black-haired man looked back at him. He thought the face looked familiar to him somehow. "It's me, Colonel Markus," the man said.

Ares realized who the man was, one of the chief engineers of the Pacifica when he'd been the second in command.

"Of course, sorry, its been a long time," Ares said walking over to him. "You haven't changed much."

"Neither have you, well you have but you haven't. That same steel determination that we all saw so long ago. What happened to you?"

"That's part of the story," Ares said. "For now my men and fleet are on their way. I'd like to know how we can help, what supplies are needed."

The group hesitated at first then started at once when they realized this wasn't a joke. There really was someone there to help them.

"Commander, we have contact with the fleet," Troy said walking up to him.

"Good, form a line, we'll communicate what's needed to the Argo and see what we can do," Ares said.

"Commander, I'd like to transport Commander Cain to the Argo," Hans said.

Ares thought about that for a few seconds before finally replying. "Let him decide."

"He won't go!"

"Then let him stay, make him as comfortable as you can," Ares said.

"But commander-"

"No, he deserves this, if he wants to stay let him," Ares said. "He's earned the right."

"Yes sir, I don't like it but I'll go with the wish," Hans said.

"Good, let me know if his condition changes," Ares said. He then walked over to the shuttle where the communications had been established. He had some work to do gathering supplies.

BSGBSG

Troy walked over to a few of the others who were watching everything. Another shuttle from the Argo had already arrived bringing the chief engineer over as well as several damage control officers. They had to examine the condition of the Pegasus quickly and prioritize what repairs would occur and when.

Troy glanced over at Bri who appeared to be looking around.

"What are you thinking about?"

"That I could of been here, on this ship," Bri said. "One of my choices was the Pegasus."

"So why did you not take it. Working under Commander Cain," Troy asked.

"Nall, he heard about the Argo and practically begged me to go," Bri replied. "At the time he was my only family. Not wanting to lose him I agreed."

"I couldn't be happier then. I'll have to thank him later on," Troy said.

They walked onto the bridge which seemed to be filled with people. Commander Ares and Talen were standing next to each other talking. So far there had been quite a lot to do and people were quickly working. Torches were working on the Pegasus' bridge as steel beams were cut, and removed. Major repairs would be needed to the ship, but it was structurally sound enough for a trip back.

The engines were easy as they had suffered only slight damage but needed specific parts. The engineer had been positive that the ship's engines would be up and running quickly.

"Captain, what's the condition of the hangers?" Troy heard Ares ask another engineer.

"The Alpha bay will require major work at a dock, but Beta bay we can get operational, partly. Six launchers along with the landing bay will be operational," the captain replied.

"Troy, select six volunteers who will be placed aboard the Pegasus, they'll make up a scouting group for the ship," Ares said.

"Yes sir," Troy said. He already knew who wouldn't go, but he could tap from the Warspite as well. Three from each wouldn't affect the operations of either ship considering they had extra pilots and spare vipers on the supply ships.

"What's the final verdict," Ares asked.

"About a day or two to get the engines, scanners and communications operational again," the chief engineer said. I can have a few of my people remain to help out repairs."

"Do it," Ares said.

Nall came running up onto the bridge. "Commander, problem, incoming Eastern Alliance destroyers!"

"They've spotted the Pegasus," Ares said. "Troy, get your squads together and prepare for battle."

Troy glanced at Bri and Nall then the three of them took off for the hanger. He hoped that at least one launcher was working. Along the way he grabbed a few of the men to help him out in the hanger. They'd have to move four vipers into a working launch bay.

BSGBSG

Nall glanced down at his scanner noticing the two Eastern Alliance destroyers. It seemed like a lifetime ago since he last has seen such ships. Now the ships were coming but this time they were better prepared to take care of them.

Commander Ares had gone back to the Argo to coordinate the fleet. The fleet, now with the s-metal giving them greater element of surprise. There was no indication that any of the ships had spotted them.

"Battlestar Galactica, you are surrounded, surrender at once."

Nall seemed a bit shocked at the name used. They had seen the Galactica. This would indeed be interesting wondering how Ares would handle this.

"This is Commander Ares, of the battlestar Argo, stand down, or we will destroy you," Ares replied.

Nall waited to see what would happen next if anything. Silence greeted the commander's words. Two destroyers were no match for two battlestars.

"Our scanners indicate your ship is in no condition to fight. Surrender at once."

"Green squad, fire warning shots at the destroyers," Ares said.

Nall turned his viper with his wingmate towards the destroyers. Lining up a shot he depressed the trigger watching as several streaks of laser fire shot blast the front of the first destroyer.

A few seconds later the two destroyers backed away turning around. But Nall had the feeling that this wasn't over with.

BSGBSG

Ares glanced down at the scanner watching as the two destroyers left the scene. He would have to keep a close eye out for them. For whatever reason the leaders of the group didn't seem too interested in keeping a peace with others.

"Commander, it doctor Hans," Rebecca said.

"Put it though," Ares said.

"Commander, I'm afraid that its Cain," Hans said.

Ares braced himself for the worst.

"He passed away, I'm sorry commander," Hans said.

"No, as you said we were too late," Ares said. He walked off the bridge to his office. Now he'd have to tell the rest of the crew the news. He could still remember the first time he ever met the striking commander. He had been a fighter pilot leader when Ares had first joined.

BSGBSG

Ares glanced around the hanger of the battlestar. His first assignment and he was on board a battlestar. Combat would come soon enough but for now he had a mission to do. He walked over to his fighter watching as the crews took care of the ship. Another young man caught his attention. From his pose the man looked confident, strong, bold.

"Ah, you must be one of the new recruits," the man said walking right up to him. "You look good, hopefully you fly as well."

Ares was taken back by the man's attitude.

"Give me a couple of squadrons, and we'll fly all the way to the Cylon homeworld," he said. "There isn't a tin head out there that's worth one human."

Ares wasn't sure what to make of the man. The war had turned into a stale-mate so far. No one seemed to be winning the war. Here was a person talking about winning the war. That was a bit refreshing to hear after so much political and media jumbling of words.

"I'm Captain Cain, and you are?"

Ares glanced down to see Cain's hand outstretched waiting for him. Ares grasped it in the traditional shake. "I'm Lieutenant Ares."

"Well, Ares, I think you'll be fine," Cain said. "Come on, I'll show to the rest of the squadron."

Ares followed Cain off the hanger to meet the others in his first assignment.

BSGBSG

Ares leaned back in his chair wonder how many had survived from that squadron. He knew that many died before they reached Captain. The battle of Cameria 3, where they had lost over half the squad. Then Cain had been promoted to the bridge and the squadron had been broken up. He had taken a position as flight leader on the Pacifica. He had wanted to go to the Pegasus but the positions had been filled.

A couple of the others had gone to the other battlestars. One had gone to the Galactica, another to the Atlantis, and still another to the previous Argo before it had been destroyed.

He looked down noticing the file from the Pegasus. Opening it up he noticed that the file contained everything that they knew and understood to be true about what had happened in the destruction and after with the Galactica.

Looking though he noticed that the first that stuck out was the fact that another human had betrayed the Colonies. It wasn't just any human, but a council member that did it.

Ares read the name, Baltar. He was faintly familiar with the person. An eager member who wanted power.

"Commander," Aaron said sticking his head into the office.

"Yes," Ares said looking over at the colonel.

"Commander Gunther has reported in. So far the boarder of the Alliance is quiet. We might have scared them off for now," Aaron told him.

"Good," Ares said. "What's nearby, anything?"

"We've got scouts out looking, we'll know shortly," Aaron replied.

"Very well," Ares said getting up. "I'll be heading over to the Pegasus, you will be in charge until I return."

"Yes sir," Aaron replied.

BSGBSG

Jax piloted the shuttle with both commanders on board. The funeral for Commander Cain had brought everyone who had volunteered for the Argo over. There were still a few who had remained back at Earth, like Doctor Leaver, and a few others. But many had decided to return and help.

The ship landed after another shuttle. She glanced over at her co-pilot who would head back to the Argo to keep a clear hanger on the Pegasus.

After walking off the shuttle she noticed that Nall, Troy, and Bri were already there. Rebecca had stayed behind on the Argo to watch Mary.

"Jax, wasn't sure if you'd show up," Troy said.

"Well, I thought it was only right, after all he was responsible for us being here now," Jax replied.

"True," Nall said.

Jax thought back to the day she had first heard of the assignment. She had been approached by her commander, on the Pacifica. He had asked her if she wanted to join a special mission, a top secret one.

She had jumped at the opportunity to do something that might help change the war, or be part of something different. That was when she had met Commander Cain. He had been over on board the Pacifica for some reason and he explained what the mission was.

"You know, just thinking about this, I find it a bit ironic," Jax said finally to the group.

"What," Troy asked.

"I never thought that Commander Cain believed in such things, like the thirteenth colony, or anything like that. But here we are, and his forethought might help the survivors," Jax said.

She watched as Troy and the others thought about that.

"Everything I've heard of mentions Cain as a person of high beliefs, and a very strong ego," Bri said.

"Interesting mix," Nall said. "But I can see your point Jax. I guess he thought enough of it, or was desperate."

"Perhaps he saw this day coming," Troy said. "He might of known, had visions but didn't tell anyone."

"Or he just got lucky, some people are like that," Jax said looking at Nall.

"Now why is everyone suddenly looking at me," Nall asked.

"No reason," Bri said smiling.

"Captain Troy," Ares voice said. The group glanced over to look at him as the commander walked over.

"Yes sir!"

"I have a mission for you. The Warspite discovered a planet, minimum life support for us, but there are a dozen or so life forms. I'd like you to investigate when we're done here," Ares replied.

"Yes sir, I'll take Bri, Nall and Jax with me," Troy said.

"Good," Ares said.

Jax watched as the commander walked away then the ceremony for Commander Cain began.

BSGBSG

Troy banked the fighter down thought the atmosphere of the planet. It was thinner than normal, which meant no strenuous activity. Behind him Bri, Nall and Jax were also heading down towards the planet's surface. They had decided to land close by but hoped they didn't encounter any hostile people.

"Remember last time we were in the Alliance territory," Bri's voice said.

"Yeah, not the most memorable meeting, but you have a knack for trouble," Troy replied.

"Me, we didn't do anything except ask a few questions," Bri replied.

"Are you saying we should be careful," Jax piped in.

"Yes," Troy and Bri's voice said.

"There's only a few of them, it shouldn't be a problem," Nall said.

"I just don't want any problems," Troy said as the four vipers slowly made their way to a small landing area.

"Troy, do you see what I see," Bri's voice suddenly said.

Troy glanced down scanning for a few seconds before he spotted it as well.

"I don't believe it," Troy said.

BSGBSG

Two sets of eyes watched as four fighter looking craft landed nearby at the landing pad. They looked at each other then back at the fighters. The fighters looked familiar, but the black color of the ships and sleeker design seemed a bit strange to them.

"I suggest we go back and inform them," one said.

"I agree," the other said.

The two quickly ran off glancing behind them as they did.

BSGBSG

Troy hopped out of his fighter as the others landed as well. Glancing around, he didn't see anyone nearby.

"Be alert, I'm sure our arrival was spotted," Troy said to them.

"Yeah, but they might already know about us," Nall said. "Otherwise why would two vipers already be here?"

"Good point," Troy said. He walked towards two vipers wondering why they were there.

"Hello," a voice said from behind them. All four spun to see a man with dark hair, dress in a silver uniform.

"Hello," Troy said speaking for the group. "I'm Captain Troy."

"Michael," the man said walking towards them. Troy thought it seemed a bit strange that the man didn't have any fear. "Though I must admit I never expected to see a Colonial warrior again."

"Do you know where the pilots are?" Troy asked.

"You don't know," Michael asked. Troy noticed that the man seemed confused by everything.

"Perhaps we should start again," Troy said. "I'm Captain Troy, this is Bri, Nall and Jax of the Battlestar Argo."

"Then you're not from the Galactica," Michael said.

"No, we're looking for her," Nall said.

Michael suddenly got a bit defensive looking at them. He pulled a weapon before saying anything else. "You're not a Cylon are you?"

Troy almost choked on his own saliva at that. "Ah, no, we are Colonial warriors."

"But only the Galactica survived," Michael said. "And Apollo and Starbuck warned me about these Cylons."

"Cylons are mechanical beings, usually silver in appearance and not prone to talking," Jax said.

"Perhaps we should talk a bit more, especially if you know anything about the Galactica," Troy said.

"All right," Michael said relaxing a bit. "Hector, Vector, come out."

Troy watched as two life like mechanical 'beings' walked towards them. Ten years ago their appearance might've caused some concern, but now, they barely flinched instead taking everything in stride.

"Not the normal reaction I expected," Michael said.

"Well, we've had quite an adventure," Troy said. He had a feeling this would be an interesting exchange of information. "Nall, tell Commander Ares we've made contact and will report later."

"All right, how do I find you?" Nall asked.

"I will stay behind," one of the two 'beings' said.

"All right Hector," Michael said. "Shall we?"

"Lead on," Troy said as the group hopped aboard a few land vehicles and sped off.

BSGBSG

Bri glanced around the household watching as a group of children ran out of the house. All three froze at the sight of them. A blonde haired woman walked out of the house to see what had happened. She noticed them and stopped as well. Bri hoped that this wasn't a sign of what would come.

"Michael, what's going on," she said.

"It appears that they are from another ship, a different ship," Michael explained.

"We're just here for information, we passed this way several years ago but weren't welcomed," Troy said.

"Come inside and have a seat," Michael said. "We'll get comfortable."

"Sounds good," Troy replied as the group walked into the house.

"Vector, can you watch over the children," Michael said.

"I'll help Vector," the woman said.

"Are you sure?" Michael asked.

"Yes," she replied.

"All right, there is another one still to come," Michael said then led the group into the house.

Bri glanced around noticing the décor. It actually seemed quite Earth modern in appearance. Sitting down next to Troy she waited for him to talk.

"So, you're from the same part of space that the Galactica came from, the Colonies?" Michael asked.

"Yes, we were sent on a special mission to find a planet called Earth," Troy said.

"You know, Starbuck and Apollo asked me that question, if Terra was Earth," Michael said.

"Terra," Troy asked.

"Our home-world," Michael replied. "But I wouldn't go there. There's been reports that the Eastern Alliance is going to strike."

"Are they the ones with the destroyers," Bri asked.

"Yes, they've got a lot of them. They had been secretly building hundreds of them. When war broke out about ten years ago they claimed that we attacked them," Michael said.

Bri glanced over at Troy wondering if they were thinking the same thing. It seemed to be at that time when the Argo went through the area.

"Yeah, it seems that they claimed we had built a large powerful ship. They still haven't found the ship responsible," Michael said. "At first many thought our government was lying to us, now, with no ship ever in sight, we now think the Eastern Alliance lied."

"What if the ship wasn't human," Bri asked. "In our travels we've encountered several other alien ships, the Arbus, and now the Galaxy Council. It could be a race that doesn't want contact?"

"Interesting thought," Michael stated.

"Or, they fired first on a warship passing though the area," Troy finally said.

Michael glanced over at him in silence for a few seconds. "How long ago did you pass though?"

"About ten years, they attacked us," Troy stated.

Michael sat back in his chair thinking about that. "What happened?"

"We did recon," Troy said pointing to himself and Bri. "We were greeted by hostile actions. When trying to leave they approached, and attempts to end the conflict peacefully didn't work they opened fire."

"Typical," Michael said. "They've never been one to talk, not when they believe they have the upper hand."

"They attacked, and we fought back. The fight really wasn't much of a battle," Bri said.

"I think war would've happened no matter what. That was just an excuse," Michael said. "So did you find this Earth?"

"After a year of travel, its several months of travel away from here," Troy said. "If its taken the Galactica almost a yehren to travel this far, it would take them almost ten yehrens to get to Earth at their current speed."

"I got the impression that their fleet wasn't the best ships," Michael said.

"Well, one thing that you answered for us. The fleet is headed towards Earth, and they are on the right path. I just hope we find them before the Cylons do," Bri said.

"Are we in danger," Michael asked.

"This planet, probably not," Troy replied.

"You're too few for them to bother with," Bri replied. "They might land and check you out, but if you don't act aggressive, and it might help."

"Chances are they'll fly over the planet check it out and unless the population grows they won't do anything," Troy said.

The door opened allowing Nall to walk in.

"So, what's the news," Troy asked.

Bri watched as Nall sat down before replying.

"Well, nothing too much. The Pegasus and the London have left towards CB2," Nall told them. "Any news?"

"We might have a destination of the Galactica," Troy said hopefully. "We need to know where Terra is. I have a feeling that that's where they are headed."

"If so they are headed into trouble then," Michael said. "Most of the astro-charts were destroyed, but I know someone who does know."

"We should probably go then," Troy said.

BSGBSG

Ares sat in his office listening to the report from Captain Troy. So far everything he had heard seemed to be normal. No mention of how many ships, or the condition of the fleet. The best report came from the Pegasus. The fuel for the fleet seemed to be the biggest concern for the fleet the Galactica led. Ares had a feeling that he would be sending back a report for fuel.

"In short they really don't have much information other then the Galactica intercepted their ship somewhere on route to their home," Troy said. "Michael relayed everything. It seems that Captain Apollo and Starbuck helped them out as well against the Eastern Alliance."

Ares watched as they stopped there in their story. He had the feeling more had gone on and waited.

"Remember when we came though here last time," Troy said. Ares nodded his head that he did remember. "Well it seems that our battle started a war."

"A war," Ares exclaimed.

"The Eastern Alliance claimed that we were part of the other side, and destroyed their destroyers declaring war. They've been at war now for several years," Troy said. "Recent reports from Terra states that the two sides have come to an agreement though."

"I see," Ares finally said. For now he still had to figure out where the Galactica and the fleet had gone. He also had to keep an eye out for the Cylons. They might be anywhere.

"I suggest we head for this Terra, they might have seen the Galactica," Troy suggested.

"Perhaps," Ares said. He didn't want to send the entire fleet, but splitting up might mean a break up. The last thing he the fleet needed would be to break up. "I'll take it under advisement."

"Yes sir," Troy replied.

Ares sat back thinking about it all. He needed to send back a report to Earth. He still had to include the Pegasus in the report. Pratt would be sadden by the news for sure.

BSGBSG

Scott walked onto the bridge with purpose after being summoned yet again. For the last couple of days they had kept an eye on a Cylon basestar in the area. It seemed to finally set up base in a system of five planets.

"All right laddie, what's the problem," Scott asked.

"Scanners just picked this up," the scanner operator said. "The basestar had just settled into orbit."

Scott glanced down at the screen looking at in shock.

"Do we have a position of the fleet," Scott asked.

"The last report we managed to pick up from Commander Ares put them about here, in the Eastern Alliance territory," the communications expert said.

Scott sat back thinking about what to do.

"All right, prepare a narrow beam transmission, heavy encryption," Scott said.

Continued in Contact


	60. Chapter 60: Contact

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Contact**

"Commander, we have a message," Rebecca said.

"Message," Ares said, glancing over at Troy and Bri who were with him on the bridge. "From who?"

"It's from the Colonial Bound," Rebecca replied.

"All right, put it though," Ares said, wondering what Captain Scott wanted.

He glanced down quickly reading though the message. The scout ship had spotted a Cylon basestar and kept track of it. Now it appeared a couple of Colonial vipers had appeared. That meant that the Galactica and the fleet had to be nearby.

"Change course," Ares said. The Pegasus and London had already left for Earth, and now he had a good lead as to exactly where the Galactica was.

"Yes sir," Aaron said. He quickly relayed the information to the rest of the fleet.

"We won't be in the area for at least a couple of days," Troy said.

"Yes, I hope the Galactica can take care of one basestar," Ares said. "Send out the Fire Ant and Emerald to these locations. Have them meet us back here."

"Understood sir," Aaron said as Rebecca sent the orders for the two scout ships.

"When we arrive here, have all ships resupply, we might need it. I don't want to head into the battle zone with my ships low on supplies," Ares ordered. The spot where the two scouts would join back up would be just outside what he considered the combat zone. "We're now operating in war condition, all communications are to be scrambled, changing every twelve hours. Any unknown contacts are to be reported and investigated at once."

"Yes sir," Troy said. "I'll let the others know."

Are watched as he and Bri left the bridge for the pilot ready room.

Ares sat down wondering if there was anything else he could do. He already had the fleet moving at high speed. Now waiting for information became a game, the important one.

BSGBSG

Troy sat down next to Bri in the rec room. He had informed all the pilots about what to expect, and what might happen. Now everyone played the waiting game. The main focus seemed to be on Mary as the young girl ran around the room creating games she could play with others.

"So, anything else new," Nall asked.

"Nope, we've heard nothing from the Colonial Bound, or our scouts," Troy replied.

"We are approaching the supply point," Jax said. She sat down with the others.

"Ya know, this reminds me of when we first started on the Argo," Nall said.

"Only difference would be you'd be hitting on Bri," Troy said.

"Yeah, well, Mary's here," Nall said.

"That and Rebecca keeps you on a short leash," Bri said.

"Haha," Nall replied. "Mary," he said suddenly standing. He quickly walked over getting his daughter.

"Don't worry about it man," the other pilot said.

Troy watched as wondering if anyone had ever seen this day coming. He knew that Nall would have a child, but didn't expect him to be such a good father. Of course the calming effect of Rebecca helped out quite a bit.

"Any bets as to when we'll come across the Galactica," Jax asked.

"No, I decided not to bet this time," Bri said.

"I did," Jax replied. "Its posted on the wall."

Troy looked over at the wall in question. Different times and dates were there all filled with names. To him the wall appeared like a giant mass of names crossed with dates and times.

"That reminds me even of the bets we'd have when finding Earth," Bri said.

"I know, I started it," Jax replied. "Well me and engineer Victor."

"Victor," Nall asked perking up on the name.

Troy watched as Jax shot Nall a glare. "Better watch out Nall, Jax has the look Bri used to get towards you."

"Really, interesting," Nall replied.

"Well, I need to go check on the vipers," Troy said. He had only stopped by for a few seconds.

"Did you eat," Bri asked.

"Not yet, do you want me to stop by on my way back," he asked her.

"Yeah, I think by then we'll all be ready to eat," Bri said.

"All right, I will," Troy said. He left the room headed towards the hanger.

BSGBSG

Scott watched the scanner once more. The basestar hadn't moved but now another ship had appeared on the screen. He quickly waited for the computer to identify the unknown ship.

"Battlestar class," the operator replied back to him.

"The Galactica," Scott said. He only thought of one thing the ship could be doing, taking on the basestar. Vipers were already heading towards the basestar but the Cylon ship didn't seem to be attacking back.

"I'm showing some damage to the Cylon ship."

Scott wondered about that. Some sort of secret weapon that the Galactica had.

"Galactica entering firing range."

Scott wondered if the upcoming fight represented how Cylons and Colonials fought. He'd watch to see if anything might be gain by watching. The Colonial Bound didn't have much firepower, and a skeleton crew. Many of who were ready to meet other people.

"Galactica opening fire, Cylons replying."

"A slug-fest," Scott said. Now they'd be able to see how a battlestar fared against the Cylon basestar.

The engagement lasted longer than he anticipated. But finally the basestar exploded.

"Cylon ship destroyed."

"Can we tell about the damage to the Galactica," Scott asked.

"Some damage, but it's still operational."

"Track the Galactica. We'll see where it's going," Scott said. Now he wondered if he should make contact or not. He knew the fleet would still be a couple of days away if they headed straight here. "Any news from the fleet?"

"Nothing yet captain."

Scott nodded his head waiting for what would happen next. Now he had to figure out on his own. He'd wait to see where the Galactica went.

"Send a signal back to Earth, we've made contact with the Galactica, following to find out more."

BSGBSG

Renee sat back in the command chair of the Fire Ant. The scout ship had been under her command now for almost seven years. She could have accepted a destroyer, or even a battlestar command by now, but enjoyed the scouting process. For some reason she felt a sense of freedom in her command that she didn't think would come from commanding another type of ship.

"Captain, should we head towards the resupply point," her first officer asked.

"Yes," Renee replied.

The Fire Ant had been patrolling the space closer to Cylon space. So far the scanners hadn't picked up anything.

She heard the preparations to begin heading back towards the fleet. Their fuel tanks were still about half full and the ship could continue on its mission for another month before needing to refuel. So supplies were not much of a problem for her ship. However she did understand where Commander Ares came from with his order.

"Captain, contact!"

"What, where," Renee said. She quickly jumped up heading over to the scanner checking it out herself.

"One contact, too far away to identify," the reply came.

Renee waited for a few second watching where the contact would be heading. "I want the course plotted so we can intercept again later after meeting with the fleet."

"Yes ma'am."

Renee wanted to follow the ship, identify it, but the window for returning to the fleet was small. She had no idea where to catch up with the fleet if she became separated.

The Fire Ant turned heading back to the fleet.

BSGBSG

Pratt stood on the bridge of the Daedalus waiting for the report to come in from the Argo. Commander Ares seemed a bit slow this week. He hoped nothing had gone wrong. General Pakrov appeared on the bridge.

"Still nothing," Pakrov said.

"Not yet," Pratt replied.

"Sir, incoming message, it's the Argo."

"Transfer it here," Pratt replied. He didn't want to wait to read it. He decoded the message as soon as the message appeared. The first couple of words shocked him though. The Pegasus? Thinking quickly, he remembered reading a report that the ship had been destroyed several years ago.

"The Pegasus, thought you were looking for the Galactica," Pakrov stated.

"The Pegasus was commanded by the legendary Commander Cain. One of the most brilliant commanders the Colonials ever had," Pratt replied.

He scanned though the message some more before reading about the commander's death. That would be something he'd have to send to the rest of the fleet, especially those who had come from the Colonies. They'd be sadden about that.

"Seems that we should probably send out a new fast supply ship," Pakrov said.

Pratt thought about that. Ares had sent the path the London and Pegasus would take. That and supply base CB2 had been completed with CB3 beginning construction. "Inform the FSS-1 and the Sloop to fuel up and head out on that course."

"Sounds good," Prakrov said. "Too bad nothing much about the Galactica."

"We now that the Galactica is headed this way, exactly where is unknown. If the reports are accurate though it will be at least another couple of years before it arrives," Pratt said.

"We should still inform the outer bases, just in case," Pakrov said.

"Yeah, let them know how far the Galactica might be," Pratt replied.

"Are you still going to send the Deadalius in for the refit," Pakrov asked.

"Yeah, the newer engines will probably be needed," Pratt replied. Doctor Leaver had made a break though with the engines used to increase speed. The calculations indicated that it would take an additional two months off the trip. Many other ships in the fleet were being re-engine with the newer engines.

Pratt watched as the crew went about their duties informing the rest of the fleet. The next part would be informing those remaining from the Argo about Commander Cain.

BSGBSG

Ares listened to the report from Renee. Her ship had encountered a strange contact and would be heading back to reestablish the contact and identify it. He gave his permission and course that he would take so the ship would be able to rejoin the fleet.

"Commander, Fire Ant reports refueling complete," Rebecca said.

"Very well, tell them they may go," Ares said.

"Yes sir," Rebecca said reporting the information back to the scout ship.

"Colonel," Ares said.

"Yes sir," Aaron replied.

"I'd like to send a couple of patrols in the direction of the Fire Ant, see if anything else is out there," Ares said. "One behind the Fire Ant."

"Yes sir," Aaron replied. "I'll let Captain Troy know about that."

Ares stood pacing a bit on the bridge. A habit he started in the war against the Arbus. Where was the Galactica? What was Commander Adama thinking, where was he headed? He had to answer these questions. The faster he answered them, the quicker the he'd find the fleet.

BSGBSG

Scott watched the scanner as the Galactica made its way out of the system. It had recovered the s and now Scott questioned himself. Should he make contact, or remain quiet.

"Orders captain?"

"We'll follow the ship first. See where it's headed and maybe find if there are any other ships with her," Scott replied.

"Yes sir."

Scott thought about everything. What about the Cylons, did they now know where the Galactica was? Had the Argo and Commander Ares received his message? He had to ponder this. If he went too far he wouldn't be able to find the fleet again. There were three human fleets, the Galactica, the Argo and his ship, add to that the Cylons and things got confusing quickly.

"Captain, contact," the scanner operator said several minutes later.

Scott didn't realize how long he'd been standing there until he glanced down.

"It appears to be a large fleet of ships."

Scott could only nod his head in agreement. There on the screen ships started to appear. More and more as the computer started to identify them. A couple of mover ships, a liner, a couple of argo ships but nothing of any cohesion.

"What's their course," Scott asked.

"Heading towards point gamma six."

Scott nodded before finally making a decision. Many ships in that fleet couldn't fly very fast. As a result the Argo could catch up quickly in the next couple of days.

"Take us back to the system. We'll meet up with the Argo and the fleet with this information. The fleet won't be able to move very fast," Scott said.

"Yes sir."

The Colonial Bound turned heading back towards the system to wait.

BSGBSG

Nall went over his check list for hisviper. Everything seemed to be in working order. Now as the canopy closed he glanced over at his wingmate for the patrol. Bri glanced back at him giving him a thumbs up sign which he returned.

"Core command transferring launch control to patrol one," he heard Rebecca's voice say.

"Transfer complete core command," Bri's voice replied.

"Patrol one, launch when ready, and come back safely handsome," Rebecca said.

"I will cutie," he heard Bri's voice say before he could say anything.

"I don't think she was talking to you," Nall said.

He glanced over when she didn't reply. He saw her glance at him, stick out her tongue then launch herviper.

"Better get going," Rebecca's voice said.

"Great, the two of the three women I love have a sense of humor," Nall said, pressing the turbos to launch the viper. He felt the acceleration pressing him back into his seat as within seconds he joined Bri in space.

Quickly forming up with Bri he turned his viper out towards the patrol area they had been assigned.

BSGBSG

Renee watched as two vipers quickly flew out of the Fire Ant's scanning range. The two vipers would be patrolling closer to the Cylon Empire. Another two vipers patrolled closer to where the commander thought the Galactica would be.

Sitting back in her chair she waited for whatever would happen next. So far the encounter with the Pegasus, and now an unknown ship. Things seemed to be heating up for sure now.

"Captain, we've made contact again."

Renee made her way over to the scanner to see for herself what the ship was. It took the computer a few seconds before the ID came in.

"Basestar," Renee said. "Not good."

"Captain?"

"Get me the Argo, high security," Renee replied. This she would have to report in for sure.

A few seconds later Commander Ares' face appeared on the screen. "Find something captain?"

"One Cylon basestar commander," Renee replied.

She watched as Ares remained silent for a few seconds before replying. "All right, follow it and let me know where its going."

"Yes commander," Renee replied. "I'm sending you what information we have."

She watched as Ares nodded his head then the screen went blank. She briefly wondered if this basestar had been reported by the Colonial Bound. She guessed that she'd have to wait to find out.

BSGBSG

Ares sat back in the command chair after hearing the information. A Cylon basestar had been encountered. He had no doubt that its mission would behind the Galactica. He wondered if the basestar was the same one the Colonial Bound had encountered.

The information about the basestar came in giving Ares a better view of what seemed to be going on. The basestar appeared to be going quite fast, towards where the Colonial Bound had been reported. A different basestar quickly approaching the area. How many more could he expect?

"Do we have contact yet with the Colonial Bound?" Ares asked.

"Not yet, we're approaching the area in the next couple of hours," Aaron replied.

Ares nodded his head at the news. The scout ship had to be ready for relief out here. He questioned how to meet up with it after arriving here. The fleet had received reports from the ship up until a few weeks ago. Now he realized they had passed the ship up.

Ares paced again on the bridge. Several others appeared nervous whenever he started pacing. Suddenly the pitter-patter of feet interrupted everyone's thoughts. Ares glanced over already knowing what to expect. A small dark-haired young girl holding a paper ran onto the bridge.

"Mommy," the squeal came from the youngster. She ran past Ares heading straight to Rebecca.

"Mary," Rebecca's stern voice said momentarily causing Mary to pause, only a second, until she noticed Ares.

"Awes," she squealed again this time stopping at him. He noticed she had the expected look of a youngster wanting up. Picking the youngster up he waited to see what Rebecca would do. He exchanged a glance with her as she turned back to her monitor. Mary seemed fine at the moment.

"So, what's going on," Ares asked the youngster.

"I drawed this," she exclaimed proudly, waving it around.

Ares had to be quick to catch a glance of the drawing. He thought he noticed several figures on it, along with a crude drawing of the Argo. "Well, let's take a look," Ares said finally able to hold the paper still long enough.

"See, that's me and mommy, and daddy, and Uncle Twoy, and Aunt Bwi, and you," she exclaimed proudly.

"I see, and what a good drawing it is," Ares said. He felt like a grandfather in this position.

He walked over to the view port to glance out the window with Mary who seemed fascinated by the other battlestar. She watched it intently as a couple of vipers zoomed by.

"Daddy," she said.

"Maybe," Ares said knowing that Nall actually wouldn't be this close to the fleet just yet. At least not without him knowing about it.

"Mary," Rebecca's voice said walking up to where Ares and Mary were. Mary squirmed a bit getting down then running over to Rebecca who picked her up. "Now, what's the rule about the bridge?"

"Not to come on it," Mary replied pouting a bit. "But I wanted to show you this."

Troy walked onto the bridge glancing around finding what he was looking for quickly.

"Sorry about that," Troy said.

"Don't worry about it," Ares said. It hadn't been the first time operations had been interrupted by a child, and probably wouldn't be the last. "Nothing much going on anyways."

"Any news," Troy asked.

"Renee reported a Cylon basestar, heading into the zone where the other one is," Ares said.

Ares watched as Troy absorbed the knowledge. "Nothing from Bri or Nall?"

"I figure they just arrived on patrol. Should be another hour or so before we hear anything," Ares said.

Ares went back to the scanner as Mary once more left the bridge with Troy. Glancing around he noticed that despite the sudden interruption things actually appeared calmer, more relaxed than they had been before.

Ares realized Mary had provided a tension breaker. He looked down at the scanner once more where the Colonial Bound probably would be, and where the Cylon basestar's heading. A piece of the puzzle appeared missing. Perhaps the patrols would fill that piece in.

BSGBSG

Bri glanced down at the scanner again seeing nothing. The Fire Ant's stealth features made it invisible to her scanners at this range, if it was still in range. Nall's viper still appeared closely behind her. She glanced over to see Nall's viper.

The Argo had left with the newest viper squadrons in the fleet. All built with S-metal but to a new design, the Mk-VIII. The design allowed greater range, better scanners and an increase in maneuverability over the vipers they had first used. The war with the Arbus had advanced the designs quickly. The people of Earth appeared to want something new and improved every year.

The Mk-VIII had more missiles then the bomber did from the Colonies. Perhaps it had been the stalemate in fighting that had caused designs to stagnate back home. Even the battlestars had started to be designed differently. They still held the original form, but they became sleeker, more dangerous. The Enterprise had been part of the new stealth design battlestar.

"Contact," Nall's voice said breaking her train of thought.

Looking at the scanner one contact appeared. She waited a few seconds before the computer identified it. Another Cylon basestar. Of course she didn't know if this had been the same one that had been spotted earlier or not.

"Let's investigate," Bri replied.

"Why not, how close?" Nall asked.

"Just enough to see if there's any others," Bri said.

"Lead on fearless leader," Nall said.

Bri turned her viper towards the basestar to investigate it more.

BSGBSG

Scott walked back onto the bridge for what seemed like the hundredth time that day.

"Still nothing captain, are you sure about this?"

"We wait," Scott said. They had been arguing to leave and meet up with the Galactica. No one on board even knew if the Argo had received the message. Of course if they had the fleet should have been there already.

"Contact," the scanner operator said. "Close, fighters!"

"What, how many? How close?" Scott asked.

"Real close, ID coming in now," the scanner operator said. Scott watched as the man breathed a sigh of relief. "Two vipers, Mk-VIIIs."

"Open a hailing frequency to them," Scott said. A few seconds ticked by until the pilot's voice came on.

"This is patrol two to Colonial Bound. Request permission to come aboard," the pilot asked.

"Permission granted," Scott said with relief. He turned to meet the two pilots in the small hanger. The Colonial Bound had one shuttle but room for three. The one pilot hadn't had much to do during the mission so far, that might change quickly.

As Scott made his way down he felt for sure that people already knew. Smiles appeared with the knowledge. Entering the hanger the two vipers finished touching down. They both jumped out heading straight to him.

"Captain," the lead pilot said. He recognized her as Jax.

"Captain Jax, welcome aboard," Scott said.

BSGBSG

"Commander, incoming communications from the Colonial Bound," Rebecca said.

"Put it though up here," Ares said turning to the screen nearby. Captain Scott's face appeared. "Captain, it's good to see you."

"Commander, good to see you as well," Scott replied.

"Rendezvous with the fleet, we've got supplies and additional men," Ares said.

"That sounds great," Scott replied. "I've got a fix on the Galactica."

"Relay the information," Ares said. That information he really wanted to see.

"Right away commander," Scott said. "Commander, we also have a couple of stowaways on board."

"Really?" Ares asked wondering who that could be.

"We picked them up, I think you know them," Scott said.

Ares watched as Jax appeared on the screen. "I see, I guess I should let Captain Troy know then."

"Our patrol didn't show anything commander," Jax said.

"What about the Cylon basestar?" Ares asked.

"Destroyed by the Galactica," Scott replied. "Quite a battle laddie. We followed after the battle, and she's leading a fleet of ragged looking ships, many not fit for travel."

Ares understood that. Commander Adama probably took in everything that could fly cramming it with people and supplies.

"All right, head on back, I'll expect a full report when you arrive," Ares said. The screen went black as Ares turned to see where the Galactica's fleet was.

"Sir, the patrol is returning," Rebecca told him. Now he'd be able to see what else seemed to be going on.

Glancing down he noticed the position of the Galactica, where the basestar had been destroyed and where the Fire Ant predicted another basestar to be. A sudden feeling began growing in his stomach as he looked at everything.

"Commander, Bri states she has something for you," Rebecca said. "She's on her way up here now."

Ares could only hope the final piece of the puzzle had arrived. Bri walked onto the bridge quickly heading straight to him.

"I take it you found something?" Ares said.

"Yes," Bri replied.

Continued in Battlestar Galactica


	61. Chapter 61: Battlestar Galactica

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Battlestar Galactica**

Two vipers prepared for launch. The pilots sat waiting for the permission to launch.

"Core command to viper patrol, launch when ready," the female voice said.

Within seconds both vipers streaked out of the launch tubes forming up then headed out away from the fleet. They had to make sure that the Cylons didn't know where they were, or if there were any more out there.

On board the battlestar, the commander waited patiently for any reports to come in about the latest information. His brow wrinkled in worry and heavy in responsibility. People were counting on him and the military. He wouldn't fail them.

BSGBSG

Troy and Bri flew along in patrol. The fleet had joined back together, and now more information gathering would be needed. The two of them were flying towards the Cylon fleet, to confirm the latest reports of their current direction. Commander Ares, for a second, thought the Cylons had spotted the fleet.

However the Cylons did not appear to be headed in the direction of the fleet. Troy thought the commander had an idea of what the Cylons planned. Now he had to be sure of everything. Which was the reason he and Bri were out flying a patrol.

Troy glanced over at Bri who made a quick hand signal down. Looking at the scanner he noticed what she'd seen. Unknown contacts heading towards them. Troy quickly calculated everything before making a quick decision. Gaining Bri's attention once more they both turned towards the contacts.

BSGBSG

"So, what do you think," Starbuck said to his friend.

"I don't know," Apollo replied.

"Come on, this plan can't fail," Starbuck told him. He had finally ironed out everything. He couldn't think of anything that might possible go wrong with the latest scheme.

"I'll let you risk your pay this time," Apollo said.

"Fine," Starbuck replied. "I will say this, it feels good to be back in a viper once again."

Flying the Cylon raider had been a challenge and quite an experience, but one he never wanted to experience again. The viper fit him better anyways.

Suddenly, two fast flying craft flew past them. "What the?" Starbuck exclaimed, not sure what he had just seen.

"I don't know, they don't show up on my scanner," Apollo replied.

"You don't suppose it's John?" Starbuck asked.

"No, these ships were dark, now white," Apollo replied.

"Iblis?" Starbuck asked. Iblis really was the last person he wanted to ever see again.

"Let's not jump to any conclusions," Apollo said.

Starbuck turned his viper lightly hoping to gain an identity of the ships. His scanner came to life, stating something was out there, but had a hard time locking on then disappeared.

"I say let's head back," Starbuck said. "They didn't look Cylon, but I don't want to take any chances."

"Scanners aren't picking anything up, maybe the Galactica's long range scanner will," Apollo said. The two turned around heading back to the Galactica with the information.

BSGBSG

Adama waited as patiently as he could for Apollo and Starbuck to appear in his office. The two hadn't been gone long when they returned in a hurry. Now the last thing he needed would be more bad news.

The two men walked into the office. Adama motioned for them to take a seat and waited for the report.

"Has the Galactica's scanners reported anything unusual lately. Maybe a ghost scan or something," Apollo asked.

"No, nothing," Adama replied. He thought about all the contacts lately, everything had been planet's or asteroids, natural occurring in space.

"We encountered something, looked dark, almost black, and, did they look familiar to you," Apollo said. Adama watched as Starbuck thought about that for a few seconds.

"Well, now that you mention it, a bit familiar," Starbuck replied.

"How," Adama asked.

"Almost viper-like looking," Apollo said.

"The Pegasus," Starbuck asked.

"The Pegasus wouldn't required supplies to build such a viper. What of your scanners," Adama asked. He waited to see what they would say.

"Didn't see them until after they passed us," Starbuck said. "Though mine did indicate something, but couldn't lock on or form an ID."

"I'll alert the bridge," Adama said. The last thing he needed would be a unknown race like the Eastern Alliance appear.

"Commander Adama to the bridge at once," Tigh's voice said. The three quickly got up and left the room.

BSGBSG

Adama walked onto the bridge wondering what had happened. He didn't think the Cylons would've found them so quickly. He had just recently dropped Baltar off on a planet.

"What's wrong," Adama asked Tigh.

"Cylon raider on the very edge of our scanners. It was there only briefly though," Tigh said.

"Tell the fleet to change course," Adama said. "We'll head," he looked over the map of local space. He didn't really know where to go but they still had to get further away from the Cylons. "Try this direction."

"Yes sir," Tigh said quickly relaying the order to the rest of the fleet.

"You know we just fought the Cylons, we don't have the firepower to continue fighting like this," Starbuck said.

"Nor do we have much of a choice Starbuck," Adama replied. The Galactica still had repairs to undertake. The last thing he needed now was another battle. "Bring the fleet to alert status. Communication is only for emergencies only."

His pilots were rested though. Supplies however would be used up quickly if they continued to fight. He knew that during the war supplies were always running out. Constant resupply from the Colonies were always needed to keep the battlestar in top fighting form.

BSGBSG

Apollo glanced at the others in the pilot room. Their numbers had taken a hit after the last fight. Almost every pilot there had experience fighting Cylons. His and Starbuck's encounter swept though the pilots quickly. A few asked for descriptions but he could only be vague about it.

"So I hear that you encountered something on your last patrol," Sheba asked him.

"Yeah," Apollo said not turning towards her. "It s been on my mind now for a while. We never saw it on the scanner."

"Well, it this makes you feel any better Bojay and I caught up to you with the same results," she replied.

"Yeah, but afterwards you appeared on our scanner," Apollo said. These things were in front of us, and barely appeared on the scanner."

"I guess that's strange," she replied.

The red alert sounded bringing everyone to their feet. "I guess we didn't lose the Cylons after all."

"Looks like it," she replied.

The two of them quickly went to the hanger where their vipers were waiting for launch. He climbed into his viper waiting to hear what the situation was.

"Core Command to viper squadron, large Cylon raider formation approaching. Engage and destroy," Rigel's voice said.

Apollo glanced down noticing the direction the raiders were approaching from and number. By the number he estimated three or more basestars had converged on them. With only one battlestar the odds were not in their favor.

"Everyone, you heard her, let's go," Apollo said. He pressed the turbo button launching the viper out of the launch tube.

BSSGBG

"Commander, we have a problem," Tigh said.

Adama glanced down at the information coming in. Things didn't look that good. The raiders were coming in from the direction the fleet had turned towards. "A trap, and I fell for it."

"You couldn't have known Adama," Tigh said.

"I should've. People are depending on me Tigh," Adama stated. Now a sinking feeling settled in the pit of his stomach. The fleet didn't have much in fighting ships besides the Galactica. A few other ships held vipers as well, but that didn't amount to much more. He had nothing left to play. Everything now came down to experience, his pilots and the crew of the Galactica against the superior numbers of the Cylons.

"Should we engage," Tigh asked.

"No, what if that's a diversion Tigh, if the basestars come from a different direction we'd be leaving the fleet unprotected. No, we'll let our pilots deal with that for the moment," Adama said.

"But our weapons might help," Tigh said.

"And if the basestars appear behind us, then what Tigh," Adama replied. "Our first priority is to the fleet."

Adama said the words but he too felt the Galactica should be helping out. He'd been surprised once before, he didn't want to be surprised again.

"Any word from the fighters of a basestar?" Adama asked. If he could find the basestar then he'd be able to make a plan.

"Nothing yet, they've made contact with the Cylons," Tigh replied.

Adama understood that this would be a waiting game.

BSGBSG

Apollo lined up another Cylon raider quickly destroying it. The laser fire seemed to becoming from everywhere at once. The Cylons seemed to be almost reckless in their attack. Perhaps they had a feeling that they had every advantage in numbers.

"I almost can't shoot and not hit a Cylon," Starbuck said.

"Just don't shoot and hit one of our own," Apollo replied.

"Don't worry, I'm behind him at least," Boomer's voice said.

"Lucky me," Starbuck's voice replied.

Apollo glanced down looking at the scanner. So far he didn't see any basestar nearby, or anything else that could be used to fuel the raiders.

"Starbuck, anything seem odd about this attack to you," Apollo asked.

"Just that they appear to be fighting hard," Starbuck replied.

"There's no basestar nearby, or anything else for that matter," Apollo said.

"Huh, a tanker?" Boomer asked.

"No, nothing, doesn't make sense," Apollo said. He lined up another Cylon quickly destroying that one as well. He watched as another viper exploded to Cylon fire. Every loss made it harder for them to maintain an effective defense.

"If you have any ideas let us know," Starbuck said.

"Other than staying alive, not much," Apollo replied.

BSGBSG

"Report Lucifer," Baltar said on board his basestar once more.

"The battle goes as planned Blatar," Lucifer replied.

"Excellent," Baltar said. He'd been rescued quickly by the Cylons, allowing him to plan this attack. The Cylons already had a plan in shape, he had restructured it a bit.

"Shall I tell the basestars to begin the attack," Lucifer said.

"No, not yet," Baltar said. "The reason for the destruction of the two basestars at Gamorey had been a couple of vipers. If they're allowed to attack the basestars we'll lose. We must make sure the vipers are low on fuel."

"There is a report of strange communications. We have yet to decipher them," Lucifer said.

"Continue with the plan," Baltar replied, not concerned with strange communications. He figured it was an alien race, and after the battle he could worry about it.

The raiders had been launched then told to drift in space, not using fuel until the basestars were out of range. That would allow the raiders to enlarge their combat radius and maneuver the basestars somewhere else.

The only problem had been the Galactica hadn't come out of the fleet yet. Perhaps a small faint would work.

"Send us towards the fleet. The moment the Galactica moves out retreat," Baltar said.

"By your command Baltar," Lucifer said.

BSGBSG

"Commander, we're intercepting a strange signal coming from different directions," Omega said.

"Cylon," Adama asked.

"Not sure, it's something we've never encountered before," Omega replied.

"Where," Adama asked. Tigh's voice interrupted his train of though.

"Contact, Cylon basestar just entering long range scan," Tigh said. "Behind us."

"Turn us towards the threat," Adama said.

The battlestar turned leaving the fleet heading towards the basestar. With no report of a basestar where the fighters were he had to assume the basestars were in other positions. If the ships were scattered it would help the Galactica fight the Cylons. One on one gave a slight advantage to the Galactica.

"Basestar is retreating," Tigh said.

Adama questioned this tactic. Maybe they wanted to have the Galactica burn its fuel. If they'd recovered Baltar then they would know the fleet's supplies were carefully used.

"Any other basestars," Adama asked.

"Yes, we're now getting three basestars approaching the fleet from here," Tigh said pointing on the map.

"Three," Adama said. "Can any pilots break away?"

"Negative," Omega replied. "They're all engaged against the Cylon raiders."

His pilots were heavily outnumbered, and now the Galactica also out number by at least four to one.

"Take us into attack vector towards the three basestars," Adama said.

"Yes sir," Tigh replied.

BSGBSG

"The Galactica has moved away from the fleet Baltar, your plan is working," Lucifer said.

"Of course it is," Baltar said.

"What is your next order?" Lucifer asked.

"Launch our fighters. Tell them to attack the fleet, destroy them all," Baltar said.

"By your command Baltar," Lucifer said. "What about the Galactica. Won't she come back to protect the fleet?"

"No, by the time Adama realizes there are more fighters he'll have seen the Tartarus basestar. He can't turn away from that battle. He'll have to try and destroy it to give his fleet a chance," Baltar replied.

"This is a risk for one of our few Tartarus class basestars. If its destroyed it might be trouble," Lucifer said.

"It doesn't matter, the Galactica is one battlestar. This time there is no Pegasus or Commander Cain to help them," Baltar replied. "This time, they won't survive."

BSGBSG

"All ships are ready."

"Launch all vipers," Ares said. It had taken longer than he anticipated getting into position. He had left the supply ships behind, along with the scout ships for some protection. The other thing he had to do was send a message back to Earth telling them what had happened.

On the scanners he watched viper after viper launch from the Argo. The mighty battlestar turned slightly adjusting course heading towards several basestars.

"Galactica turning away from fleet," Aaron said.

Ares nodded his head. He expected that to happen when the basestars appeared. What Adama didn't know was the Cylons had several basestars, including the massive Tartarus basestar. It seemed that the Cylons intended to use that ship to destroy the Galactica, then systematically destroy the fleet.

"Get me Troy," Ares said.

"Commander, what's up," Troy asked.

"I want green squad to concentrate on the Tartarus class basestar," Ares ordered. He wanted to make sure the large ship didn't gain any advantage over his fleet. He wished he had a Bismarck class battelstar. They were built for battle and probably could stand toe to toe with the basestar. The one advantage he did have was the S-metal. He hoped to get close enough to destroy the enemy.

"Understood," Troy replied. "Anything else."

"Red squad is to head over and help the Galactica's fighters. The Enterprise's fighters are to engage the incoming fighters heading towards the fleet," Ares said.

"Not a problem," Troy said.

Ares took a breath calming himself. "Bring weapon systems on-line, positive shield now."

The large blast cover closed over the window of the bridge as the Argo went moved closer to battle. Breaking away from the fleet the destroyers Moscow and Houston began heading towards the fleet to provide anti-fighter support.

"We'll be in firing range in five minutes," Rebecca called out.

Ares nodded his head waiting for the right time. He didn't want to open fire at extreme range. His first shot he hoped to be devastating. The Galactica's warriors were doing just fine, and soon his warriors would join in.

Behind the Argo the Enterprise also closed in on the unsuspecting basestars as over two hundred vipers streaked in to battle.

"Three minutes."

BSGBSG

"Adama, incoming fighters headed towards the fleet," Tigh said.

"From where," Adama asked.

"Behind us commander, from the position of the other basestar," Omega replied for them.

"Prepare to turn about," Adama said.

"New basestar, Tartarus class," Omega said.

Adama stopped upon hearing that. A killer basestar of capital ships. Fighters were its greatest weakness but its main weapons were capable of destroying a larger ship easily.

"Orders," Tigh asked.

"Remain on course," Adama said. "We must destroy that ship."

Adama watched conflicting emotions play across Tigh's face. The same emotions already went though him. Now he had to carry out the order.

"What's the position of the basestars," Adama asked. He mentally planned the attack hoping to exploit the one weakness of the Tartarus basestar. The firing arc didn't extend to the top or bottom of the ship. If the Galactica could attack from either of these points they stood a chance of destroying the ship.

"Thirty microns until firing range," Athena's voice said.

Adama waited calmly as the range came down. When the Galactica's weapons were within range he ordered the weapons to open fire. The Galactica opened fire with return fire from the basestar almost right away.

The Galactica rocked a bit by the attack. Adama understood that the damage would also increase. He hoped the old warship would hold together enough to do the job. A quick glance confirmed that the raiders were indeed heading towards the fleet. The few remaining vipers in the fleet would be overwhelmed.

BSGBSG

Ares watched as the fleet continued to close the distance. The Galactica and the Cylon basestars engaged each other at extreme ranges. That didn't surprise him. He would've done the same thing being so outnumbered. Only he knew of a pair of aces still to be played.

"Vipers about to engage," Rebecca said.

"Have the cruisers target the Tartarus ship, its weak from the top or bottom."

Ares watched Aaron relay that information to the ships. The two cruisers quickly adjusted their attack pattern. Ares noticed that one went high while the other went low. The range had now closed enough for the weapons systems to do the maximum damage.

"All ships, move and engage," Ares ordered. "Open fire.

The weapon systems of the Argo and the Enterprise targeted the Cylon basestars. The Leopard and Hornet had maneuvered to attack the Tartarus basestar. Their weapons opened fire a few seconds later followed by the destroyer Calgary.

BSGBSG

Jax lined up her squadron preparing to engage the Cylons. She could already see the flash of explosions by both ships.

"Missiles," Jax called out. She waited as the targeting computer growled at her indicating a good lock. "If you have a lock, fire," she said pressing the missile trigger.

Several missiles streaked away from the formation heading straight towards the Cylons. Seconds later several explosions occurred as Cylon raiders fell to the first missile barrage.

"Break and attack," Jax said, now the next part. She hoped Troy could make contact with the Galactica's pilots.

BSGBSG

Troy streaked in with Red squadron toggling his communications. It took a few seconds until he finally head voices.

"What was that," a voice said.

"Don't know Starbuck," another voice said. "I just know the raider on my tail suddenly exploded.

"This is Captain Troy of the Battlestar Argo to Galactica warriors," Troy said.

"Apollo, who just said that," the voice of Starbuck said.

"Identify yourself," Apollo asked.

"I'm Captain Troy, it's a long story, but we're here to help," Troy said. "I think the story can wait until after the battle."

"You fired the missiles," Apollo asked.

"Yeah, and we're engaging now," Troy said. He already lined up a Cylon fighter quickly destroying it.

"All right, Right now I'll take all the help we can get," Apollo replied.

"Red squad, break and attack, fire at will," Troy said on the other channel.

Red squad engaged with a fury adding their tremendous firepower to the vipers of the Galactica's squadrons. The fight had become a battle once more.

BSGBSG

"Commander, we received something strange from our warriors," Tigh said to Adama.

"What," Adama asked keeping his mind on the current battle. Something strange had happened. The basestars further away had stopped firing. The scanners were also indicating they were taking damage but nothing else was out there.

"Apollo states that a squadron of vipers from the Battlestar Argo arrived to help them," Tigh said to him.

That caught Adama's attention. The Argo had been destroyed almost fifteen yehrens ago. He'd been at the battle with the Galactica. Tigh had witnessed it as well.

"I know commander, the Argo had been destroyed, but that's what they say they are from and, well, something is going on?" Tigh said.

"Another Cylon trap," Adama said.

The Galactica rocked again as another hit impacted the mighty battlestar. Everyone on the bridge continued their task.

"Fire in landing bay alpha commander," Omega said. "Damage control teams are on their way."

Adama acknowledge the report and focused once more on the battle. The scanners also indicated the raiders approaching from behind had stopped. They appeared to be engaged against some unknown enemy as well.

"Commander incoming communications, Line Alpha," Omega said.

Adama and Tigh looked at each other at the same time. Both understood what that meant.

BSGBSG

"Report Lucifer," Baltar said.

"The battle no longer goes in our favor," Lucifer said.

"What?" Baltar said coming out of his chair. He hadn't been expecting that. "What happened?"

"According to reports our warriors have come under attack by an unknown force. Our scanners have a hard time finding them," Lucifer said.

"Invisible ships," Baltar stated.

"It appears so. Some of our pilots have reported seeing a viper-like fighter," Lucifer said.

Baltar thought about that. "What about the basestars?"

"They are also under attack. Shortly after engaging the Galactica they came under fire from an enemy that doesn't appear on the scanner. They are attempting to fire manually. One basestar captain reports a battlestar and a gunstar attacking them," Lucifer reported.

"Retreat then," Baltar said.

"What about our raiders," Lucifer asked.

"Pull them back as well. We must retreat," Baltar said. Whatever this new enemy turned out to be he needed time to think about it. He didn't know anything about another battlestar, or a gunstar. The last gunstar had been destroyed almost twenty yehrens ago. The battle didn't go the way he planned.

He would have to scout the nearby planets for any human civilizations with such tech levels to create warships like a battlestar.

BSGBSG

Ares waited for the communications to be returned from the Galactica. One thing that they'd have to do would be upgrade the Galactica's communications.

"The far basestar is retreating, along with the raiders, orders," Aaron asked.

"Let them go for now. Our main concern is the fleet," Ares said.

Ares continued to wait for any response from the Galactica.

"Leopard reporting their target is attempting to retreat," Aaron said.

"Continue attack. Don't let that ship get away," Ares said. "Target it and open fire with all weapons. Tell Green squadron to concentrate on that ship."

"Yes sir," Aaron replied. Ares watched as the orders were relayed.

The damage to the Argo had been far less than what the Galactica had suffered. He could only assume the S-metal worked. Of course the scanners of the Argo and the rest of the fleet had been improved tremendously over the years. The Earthers were never satisfied with current technology.

"Communications coming though," Rebecca said.

Ares glanced down as the screen came to life. He recognized Commander Adama right away. His hair now a bit more white than last time he'd seen him. A few more wrinkles but that came with age. His own dark hair had started turning gray as well.

"Commander Adama, this is Commander Ares, of the Battlestar Argo," Ares said.

"Commander Ares, forgive me if I don't recognize you," Adama said.

"Understood," Ares said. "I was Colonel under Commander Bacchus on the Pacifica about ten years, I mean yehrens, ago."

"Cylon basestars retreating, Tartarus basestar has serious damage," Aaron's voice said relaying information back to Ares.

"Don't let the Tartarus ship go, continue firing. We'll deal with the other basestars later," Ares said. He turned his attention back to the screen.

"Colonel Ares," Adama said. "I remember something about you. You disappeared. The official report was you were on a secret mission…"

"Yes sir," Ares said. "Under Commander Cain the Argo was built, and commissioned, with the sole mission of finding Earth and preparing it for war with the Cylons."

"Cain."

"Yes sir, I suggest that we meet to talk about this," Ares said.

"I think we should," Adama said.

"Ship destroyed," Aaron said. "All Cylon forces are in full retreat."

"Recall our vipers, give the Fire Ant the signal to approach. I think we've got a fleet that could use some supplies." Ares said.

Continued in The Argo Tales


	62. Chapter 62: The Argo Tales

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**The Argo Tales**

Apollo turned his viper in line with the other vipers. They were headed towards the Argo. The Galactica's landing bays had been damaged in the attack. Now that he could finally see the other vipers they were a grey color, not black. The ships had a sleeker appearance than the vipers did.

"I must be dreaming," Starbuck's voice said breaking Apollo's inspection of the vvipers. He turned looking forwards. There he could see two battlestars. One looked very much like the Galactica, the other a sleeker design.

"Galactica squadron, you are cleared to begin landing in bay beta," a female voice said to him.

"Acknowledge core command," Apollo said. "I'll go first." Apollo said. He didn't want to risk anyone else.

Microns later he touched down in the landing bay with the same ease as he would any other battlestar.

The crew quickly worked moving the viper out of the way as the next viper landed. Starbuck was right behind him followed by Boomer. A quick look over at the other pilots he noticed they dressed very much like he did. One approached him.

"I'm Captain Troy," the man said.

"Apollo," Apollo replied. "What's going on? Where did this ship come from?"

"I think we'll wait until the rest of your squad lands, and Commander Adama comes over to answer everything. But I'm from the Colonies, Caperica to be exact," Troy said to him. "How bad was it, my parents were still there when we left?"

"A lot of the surface had been destroyed. Many didn't survive," Apollo said. He didn't add that his mother had been one of the ones who had been killed. He still seemed in a bit of a shock at everything that had gone on.

Boomer and Starbuck had joined him as more of his fighter squadron landed on the Argo. He watched as Sheba landed then made her way over to the group. He noticed that Troy seemed to glance over at her then at the people behind him. He watched the silent communications going on reminding him of how he, Starbuck and Boomer could communicate.

"Any idea what's going on," Sheba asked.

"Not a clue," Apollo said. "I guess we'll have to wait."

"I'm still not sure if we can trust them," Starbuck said.

"Well for now they helped us out. We'll wait until we hear the story," Apollo said.

"This way please, I've been informed that Commander Adama will be joining us shortly as well," Troy said. The group followed Troy up though the group heading towards the pilot's room.

Apollo heard a familiar rumble of the engines, but they sounded a bit different, higher pitched but not Cylon. Once inside he noticed several others already there. Many had the insignia of the Argo but a few others of his squadron.

"Boomer," a voice said. Apollo turned to see a dark-haired woman standing there looking at Boomer.

"You know her," Apollo asked.

"Ah," Boomer seemed a bit confused at first before saying anything else. "Jax?"

The woman, Jax, hugged Boomer before anyone else could say anything else. Apollo seemed stunned by what he'd seen. There had to be a story there, now he'd have to wait for that.

"I didn't expect to see you here," Jax said.

"Yeah, well, after you accepted that secret mission I transferred to the Galactica," Boomer replied.

"Well, it's been an adventure, that's for sure," Jax said. "Come on, I'll introduce you to my friends."

Apollo watched as introductions were made. He already knew of Troy, but the shorter blonde haired woman's name was Bri. Next to them another man stood, his name was Nall. This would be interesting debriefing.

BSGBSG

Ares glanced waited on the flight deck as the shuttle landed. The door opened allowing an older man, one of the Council of Twelve to exit.

"Commander Adama, welcome aboard the Battlestar Argo," Ares said.

"Thank you commander," Adama said.

Ares watched as the man looked around a bit confused. He didn't doubt that at all. The mission the Argo had been sent on never was told to the council. Now he had to explain that mission, along with everything else to him.

"You're warriors are in our pilot's briefing room. I think it's the best place for this conversation," Ares said.

"Lead on then," Adama said.

Ares walked off the hangar with the man in tow when another officer approached.

"Commander, we've finished setting up the perimeter around the fleet. The supply ships will be arriving within the hour. The destroyers followed the Cylon ships. The report will be ready in thirty minutes," the aide said..

"Have Aaron look it over and get in contact with the Galactica and see what help she needs," Ares said.

"How many ships do you have," Adama asked.

"With me, two battestars, two gunstars, or cruisers, three destroyers and two scout ships along with six supply ships," Ares said.

"Where did this fleet come from, some sort of advanced construction base," Adama asked.

"Something like that," Ares replied as the two men walked into the pilot's room.

"Father," a dark haired warrior said.

"Apollo, you made it," Adama said.

"Wasn't easy," Apollo replied.

"I guess we'll get some answers then," Adama said.

"Of course," Ares said. He walked to the front of the room where Adama also went. Now he'd have to tell them what happened.

BSGBSG

Adama took a seat watching Commander Ares. As he looked around the room things looked the same, yet different. The electronics seemed more advanced, yet the same. The screen were all in bright vivid color, something the Galactica's monitors didn't have. He noticed that Ares seemed to be using his hand to manipulate the computer. That he would have to ask about. He leaned forward a bit as Ares began to speak.

"Almost thirteen yehrens ago without permission of the Council several commanders gathered together to construct another battlestar, the Argo. As construction completed several of these commanders, including Commander Cain, understood how the war was going," Ares said to the group. "At the time I was a Colonel on board the Pacifica. Commander Cain and Bacchus picked me to undertake the mission."

"Commander Cain knew about this ship," Adama asked. The news both shocked him and yet he wasn't shocked at all upon hearing the name.

"Yes, he was the one who gave me the mission," Ares said. "The mission of the Argo was to find Earth."

Adama almost forgot to breathe upon hearing the name. "Earth!" He would wait to hear more of this tale.

"The crew is made up of almost entirely orphans as no one knew how long such a mission would take. Our first mission we found the void, and then Kobal," Ares said.

"You made it in the tombs, how?" Adama said. He knew it took a seal to get in.

"We had a seal," another pilot said holding up a seal. "It's been handed down for generations in my family."

Adama digested this news. Many people did have the seal, and a few were not part of the Council. He'd have to think about who that might be.

"After finding the direction to Earth w e encountered a Cylon basestar. In fact it was part of a greater offensive against the Colonies," Ares said.

Adama quickly thought about the time frame before realizing what attack Ares was talking about. That had come close to destroying the Colonies. "The Cylons had a force behind us?"

"A basestar and a base," Ares said. "We lost several good warriors in that battle. But it was just one of many adventures.

BSGBSG

Apollo thought about what he'd just heard. The battle triggered a memory in him.

"Where did this battle take place?" Apollo asked.

"Shortly after finding Kobal," Ares asked.

"About ten yehrens ago?" Apollo asked seeing a confused Starbuck and others.

"Yes," the reply came.

"Did you have a warrior named Martin?" Apollo asked watching as a couple of the warriors seemed to sit upright at the name.

"He was our friend," the blonde, named Bri said. "Did you meet him?"

Apollo suddenly felt sad with knowledge he had. "No, not him, his son though. I'm afraid that a Cylon killed him on the planet."

"Wait a minute, isn't that the planet where you managed to get fuel for your viper to make it back," Starbuck replied.

"Yes, I've always thought it was strange that a Colonial warrior and a Cylon had been in the area," Apollo said. "It makes sense now."

"So you're the one," Troy said. "The one he'd help go back home."

"Back to the Galactica, yeah," Apollo said. "If not for him I'd still be stuck on that planet."

BSGBSG

Troy would have to talk with his wife a bit more about the vision he'd had of Martin. For now though he gave a brisk rub to Bri's shoulders. The shock of hearing of his death wasn't what they planned. He turned back to Ares who continued.

"After that we had a brief encounter with a being called Iblis, and the Eastern Alliance, who we understand you've encountered as well," Ares said.

"Yeah, wasn't pleasant, but we did manage to stop a war," Apollo said.

"But that was close," Starbuck replied. "They almost destroyed each other."

"I will tell you that after this there is almost nothing but abandoned civilizations from here to Earth," Ares said. "We did encounter one race. They were fleeing the Colonial/Cylon war. Their technology was highly advanced. In fact the stealth of our ships is part of the technology they gave us."

"That's why your ships didn't show up on our scanners," Adama asked.

"Our hull is coated with a layer of what's called S-metal. Unfortunately the metal isn't as durable as regular armor. So we created parallel designs, a stealth design and a normal battle design," Ares said to the group. "We didn't know about the metal until after making contact with Earth."

"Earth does exist then," Adama asked.

"Yes," Ares replied. "The current speed of the fleet means you won't be for another ten to fifteen years, I mean yehrens."

"Then how far away is it," Adama asked.

"For the Galactica, a yehren, but with so many ships it will slow the fleet down. I can send a transmission to Earth for some passenger ships. We've developed new engines that go faster. The trip from the Colonies to Earth now takes about seven months. However Earth has its own history and doesn't remember Kobal," Ares said.

"I don't understand," Adama asked.

Ares glanced at Troy. This would be his part. "We encountered Earth as a more primitive civilization. They had no desire to explore space and in fact only a few wanted to go. We made contact with the space agency of one of the nations of the planet."

"Sounds like Terra," Adama said.

"It was actually worse. Well, we made contact then began looking for a base of operations. A planet with some life support on the surface and rich in resources provided several great options. We quickly began construction on a gunstar called Tiger then a destroyer using the S-metal," Troy said.

"If you've been construction ships why didn't you send any to the Colonies," Adama asked.

"Well, we had been there almost a year when something happened. An unknown race attacked Earth," Troy said.

BSGBSG

Starbuck almost groan at that statement. Why did such a thing seem like it had to happen.

"Sounds strange," Starbuck whispered to Apollo.

"Well, give it a chance," Apollo whispered back to him.

Starbuck leaned back listening to the rest of what Troy had to say.

"We learned that the attackers were an alien race called the Arbus. A race about as advanced as the Colonies were. It struck us as strange when they attacked. Many things just didn't make any sense. The leaders of Earth didn't recognize that any attack had occurred," Troy said.

"Sounds a bit outrageous," Starbuck said. "How would they not understand something as simple as that?"

"That's what we asked ourselves," Troy answered. "Seems the answer was actually quite simple, clones."

Starbuck glanced at Apollo and Boomer in confusion. They had the same look in their face as he had on his.

"The Arbus feared any race that might be close to the same technology as they were. As a result they'd use the same method everywhere. Create clones who were programmed to think a certain way. Such as ignoring an attack by an alien race," Troy said to them.

Now Starbuck wondered if the ship he was on had clones on board. He vocalized his thought.

"Some from Earth might be, but most have been transferred to food production or construction of building on Earth. They no longer are able to hold any public office," Ares said. "That was a nightmare."

"The Arbus had many clones in public office. After time it became easier to spot them. They'd argue against certain logical things that would benefit the war effort against the Arbus. In fact there still might be some, we tried not to make it a witch hunt," Troy replied.

"I can see why," Apollo replied.

BSGBSG

"How is their government set up," Adama asked.

Ares motioned to Troy that he'd handle this question. "Their government is set up on a democracy, kind of. Each part of Earth votes on representatives, either elected by the people or a council depending on the area. In the council one member is then elected to office of the President. They have control over several things, such as diplomacy with other races."

"So he's the one the council would meet with," Adama asked.

"Yes," Ares said. "His name is Xai. He's had a rough presidency so far. A war, rebuilding the planet and now another war."

"Do they know about us," Adama asked.

"At first they didn't. That was because of the Arbus. You see shortly after we arrived we found an ancient starship, actually we figured out it was a scout ship for the thirteenth tribe," Ares said to them. "They had a war and over time the thirteenth tribe lost the war."

"IF the Arbus are that old why are they not more advanced," Apollo asked.

"That question bugged us as well. We didn't have that answer until about five years ago," Ares said.

"Years, I heard that term from the Eastern Alliance," Apollo said.

"The Earthers use that term as well. Basically similar to the yehren," Ares answered. "Anyways, we managed to beat the Arbus back off Earth. They had a base on the planet along with clones. We also had a hard time gaining any information about the Arrbus. Most of our information for the first five or so years came from what information we could learn from the Orion, the scout ship we uncovered."

"You weren't able to capture any?" Starbuck asked. "I mean even the Cylons we were able to capture some and learn from them."

"Its harder when they commit suicide instead of being captured," Ares said. "In fact we had one battle where they sent a ship with the mission of ramming the Argo. We barely avoided that, but it also caused some electrical damage."

"About the electronics, they look a bit advanced," Adama said.

"The Earthers technology while not advanced enough for star travel, their computer were more advanced," Ares said. "Remember they were not at war with the Cylons like we were. They've developed powerful computers, however when designing the warships the electronics are separated much like the Argo is. We updated the screens and a few other things allowing more room on board the ship for other critical components."

Ares remember the slight argument he had with the designers over that. They had wanted to integrate the computers even more to make it the ship more efficient. It had finally taken the work of the President to end the argument. Now there would be no question of how the ships were designed.

"The Argo now carries an extra ten anti-fighter weapons as well as more fuel for the engines. But that refit came later, including improving the engines. The war with the Arbus continued however," Ares said. "After managing to dislodge the Arbus from the planet we had to deal with the clones. In fact Captain Troy discovered the clones."

"The Earthers, actually clones, and the Arbus set up an ambush for our fledgling fleet. At a meeting they had hidden their ships waiting for us," Troy said to the group.

"I didn't agree with meeting with them and took my warriors and the Argo and disappeared. Thanks to the S-metal they were not able to follow," Ares said.

"During the battle a group went down to rescue the negotiators. It was then we discovered the chamber of clones. A huge room that they were growing human clones in. It was larger than the Argo, and full of chambers," Troy said.

"Growing humans," Adama said. "What did they plan to do with them?"

"Well, that was part of their plan. You see they didn't want to eliminate the human race, only beat it down technologically. Then they'd wipe any existence of the previous civilization and reseed the planet along with any survivors," Ares said.

Ares noticed that Adama and the others seemed shocked at that. He had to admit the first time he'd put all the pieces together he'd been shocked as well. But he no longer thought about it anymore.

"That's barbaric," Adama finally sputtered.

"We didn't learn much beyond that till about five years later," Ares said to them.

BSGBSG

Adama sat back in his chair after hearing about the Arbus. They sounded pretty bad, but something was missing. He'd have to wait to hear the full story.

"After five years or so of war we had built up our fleet, to two fleets consisting of about ten warships each. One of our scout ships encountered something that made my blood run cold, a Cylon basestar," Ares said.

"Cylons out there," Adama asked . That sounded impossible to him. What would the Cylons be doing out there?"

"It scared us as well. That's when a lot of information about the Cylons started leaking out. I had decided to keep it silent especially after the Arbus invasion. People might not trust me either. Well putting together a strike force we quickly destroyed the basestar and learned a few things," Ares said. "The basestar had been damaged in a battle and drifted all that way. The centurions and computers on board were damaged effecting the memory. The Arbus who had found it the ship were using it to revolt against the standing Arbus government."

"Cylons being used for a civil war," Adama said. "That's how they started."

"Yes, but the Arbus didn't know that. Well once this new group of Arbus were discovered we found out a lot of information. The Arbus advance their technology slowly. As a result any race that advances quickly they feel is a threat, so they level the civilization and let it begin again," Ares said.

Adama thought about that for a few seconds. Destroying a race because you feel technologically inferior didn't seem right. The Cylons would completely destroy them then. "How'd the war end?"

"About eight months ago, about the same time as the Armistice was to take place we planned a final strike against the Arbus along with the rebelious group. They fought to take over the government while we occupied their military," Ares siad. "The plan worked and the Arbus surrendered."

Adama thought about that. So the war with the Arbus was over, much like the war between the Colonies and the Cylons was over. He then thought of something that Ares said. "You said you know about the Armistice?"

"Yes, one a month Commander Baccus sent a message towards us keeping us informed of what was going on. He sent a laser message indicating that the Galactica had probably survived," Ares said. "Upon hearing that we sent our long range scout ship, the one that had returned before back to see if it could find you."

"You're not sending signals back and forth," Apollo asked.

"No, only signals heading away from the Cylons are sent. We don't need for them to know about Earth, or their location," Ares said.

Adama sighed a bit at that. Ares seemed confident about his leadership abilities. "You sent a scout ship back to the Colonies?"

"YEs, to contact either Commander Cain or Bacchus," Ares said. "And to let them know that help from Earth might be slow in coming."

Adama fumed a bit that so much had been left out of the council. So much done without permission. In a small way though he felt relieved, that meant Baltar wouldn't know about the fleet at Earth, or the mission of the Argo. "It seems that a lot has been done without permission of the council. While I don't agree with it, I won't say I'm not glad to see this."

"Well, it's been quite a mission, but the story isn't quite over, not yet," Ares said.

Adama wondered what could be next. Surely there was nothing else that he could surprise him with.

"We encountered another battlestar on the way here," Ares said.

BSGBSG

"The Pegasus," Sheba asked. She almost rose out of her chair asking the question.

"Yes, the ship was drifting into Terra space without any scanners, or a way to defend itself," Ares replied.

"Commander Cain?" Sheba asked. She personally didn't care too much about the ship, but wanted to know what happened to her father. She almost knew by the look on Commander Ares' face what the answer was.

"I'm sorry, Commander Cain was seriously injured in the battle. If we'd arrived earlier it might have made a difference," Ares said.

Sheba felt the shock of that news. Part of her had accepted that, but another part of her always thought her father would be able to outfight anything in space and return back home. The reality set in. She felt the warmth of Apollo comforting her.

"The Pegasus is heading to Earth along with a destroyer escort and a few fighters for escort. I sent the flight path back to Earth and expect Commander Pratt to send a supply ship to meet with them," Ares said.

"Oh yes, Michael says hi," Troy said.

Sheba glanced to Apollo to see if the name meant anything. His face showed that he indeed recognized the name.

"How is he doing," Apollo said.

"He, his wife, and their kids are doing fine. The others there are also doing fine. They were surprised to see us that's for sure," Troy said. "They thought we were from the Galactica. Then we had to explain our situation quickly so they didn't think we were Cylons."

"Yeah, he took our warning seriously then," Apollo said.

Sheba realized they were talking about the mission to Praxia, or something like that. The family on the shuttle that everyone first thought had come from Earth. She wondered how many other encounters both groups had shared. She guessed that time would tell.

BSGBSG

Ares watched as the groups started getting up after the briefing. He then noticed Aaron standing near the doorway. Motioning him over where he waited beside Adama.

"Commander, we've got a list of supplies that we can transfer to the fleet. The supply ships will be here shortly," Aaron said.

"Good," Ares said taking the pad and looking it over himself. Normal supplies, repair equipment and additional food supplies. Fuel didn't seem to be that much of a problem yet, and he'd be emptying the faster ships first to send back to return with more supplies.

A thought occurred to him. He might be able to lighten the burden of the fleet by transferring people back to Earth. He'd have to send word to Pratt to send the Hermes, it still was built as a general transport, with plenty of room for people and it was fast. The engines had been upgraded often.

"I think I have an idea, if you're willing," Ares said to Adama.

"I'm listening," Adama said.

"I'm going to transfer some supplies to the fleet and create a few empty supply ships and sending them back to Earth. We can load a few of your people on the ships to ease the strain on the fleet," Ares said.

"That might work. I'd like to go with them. I should meet the Earth government. Perhaps part of the Council should go as well," Adama said.

"Make the preparations now before the fleet arrives," Ares said. "I'll tell the ships to get ready."

The pitter patter of feet startled them all, as Mary came running into the room. Spotting Nall, she quickly ran to him holding her arms up wanting to be picked up.

"I see children are on board," Adama said.

"Her father is from the Colonies, and her mother is from Earth and both are on board the Argo. Didn't seem right leaving her behind," Ares said. "We have a few children on board the ships, had a few weddings, a few births as well. What do you expect on a long journey?"

"Same things I've dealt with," Adama said.

Ares had the feeling that he and Adama might work well together.

Continued in Beginning Voyage


	63. Chapter 63: Beginning Voyage

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Beginning Voyage**

Troy looked around the bridge of the Argo for the commander. Ares currently stood near Rebecca talking about something he couldn't hear from this distance. He walked over to Ares stood.

"Relay the information to Commander Adama and Gunther as well. They should have this information and a war council needs to be called," Ares said.

Troy watched as Rebecca relayed the information to the other battlestars. A war council would bring in all commanders of the fleet together for a conference. They would need a large room for that. Perhaps a hanger bay might be the best spot for such a meeting.

"Troy, glad you're here, I need you to coordinate with Captain Apollo with patrols. I'd like to use our vipers for long patrols and the Galactica's vipers for CAP," Ares said.

"I think I understand. I'll talk to him, and I think I can get him to agree with that," Troy replied. "I think he's still on board the Argo somewhere."

"Probably taking advantage of the room," Ares said. "From what Adama's been telling me the Galactica has twice it's normal compliment at the moment."

"That's going to be a strain on the ship," Troy replied. He couldn't imagine the strain on the ship's equipment for such a large crew. He then wondered about some of the other ships, were they in any better shape.

"Commander," a male voice said. They all turned to see Apollo walking towards them. That made finding him easier for Troy.

"Captain, we were just talking about you," Ares said motioning for the man to walk over. Troy watched as it seemed to take Apollo by surprise. He then noticed that Starbuck stood next to him. "What can we do for you?"

"Ah, well, we were wondering if you've heard anything about the Galactica's landing bays," Apollo said.

"Well, the repair crews have worked hard, and we've sent some supplies over," Ares said. "The last report from your father asked how long we could hold the extra pilots."

"I see," Apollo said. "Well, I was just wondering, my son is still over there."

"I see, I'll contact Adama about that, I'm sure he'd allow a few pilots to rotate on the Galactica," Ares said.

"Sounds good," Apollo said.

Troy made his way out with Apollo and Starbuck after he finished talking with Commander Ares.

"Captain, Commander Ares asked me to get with you to set up a patrol schedule," Troy said. "He'd like to use the Galactica vipers for CAP, and the fleet's for long-range patrol."

"CAP?" Apollo asked a bit confused.

"Oh, right, I've gotten used to Earth terminology, a ready squadron," Troy replied.

"Can I ask why, I know I am probably better than some of your pilots," Starbuck said.

"Actually it has nothing to do with the pilot, the viper though does," Troy said. "The original vipers, I think you're using Mk IIs?"

"Yes, actually some have been upgraded a bit, now they're called a or b's," Apollo said.

"Essentially the same viper we had when we left," Troy said. "In the yehrens we've been gone with the help of the Earthers we're now at the MkVIII design. Using the S-metal it provides excellent range and a stealth feature. The Cylons have to get real close before the vipers show up on the scanner."

"We noticed," Apollo said. "Any chance we might be able to fly them?"

"I'd have to talk with Ares, but I don't see why not. Transfer a few MkIIs for a few MkVIIIs," Troy said. "I think we could manage that."

He thought about asking the crew chief about transferring a few of the vipers. He knew that most of the older pilots could fly the earlier vipers. Some modifications had been done, so perhaps a training of the Galactica pilots to fly the newer vipers might be in order. He waited till he was down on the hangar bay for that.

BSGBSG

Baltar sat on the command chair of the basestar waiting for the report from the other Cylon commanders. Lucifer walked in bowing to him.

"Report Lucifer," he said to the Cylon.

"The reports of the other basestar commanders are all the same Baltar. Their scanners didn't pick anything up until after they were already under attack," Lucifer replied.

"What did they see," Baltar asked.

"From a few eyewitness reports another fleet of Colonial warriors has appeared," Lucifer said. "There were at least four ships in the fleet."

Baltar sat back thinking about the report. He didn't know of any additional ships that could have survived the war. "Were the scanner jammed?"

"No Baltar, that is the strange thing. The Colonial ships didn't appear on our scanners," Lucifer replied.

Baltar rubbed his chin thinking about that. A stealth cloak or something like had been developed, but when or where. Being on the council nothing had ever been brought up to him about it.

"Baltar?" Lucifer asked.

"What is it Lucifer," Baltar replied.

"The other commanders want to know what your orders are," Lucifer said.

"Tell the basestars to repair their damage, I might still need them," Baltar replied.

"By your command," Lucifer said. Bowing the Cylon left the command room to carry out his orders.

BSGBSG

Troy made his way over to where Bri stood. She had finished asking for volunteers to transfer to the older s. He wondered if anyone actually did volunteer.

"Well, had a few people say yes," she said to him.

"More than what I thought," Troy replied honestly.

"I think it came down to the fact that the patrol would be within the fleet, not the boring outer patrols," Bri said.

"Ah yes, the long patrols, quite boring," Troy said. "When do you and Nall take off for patrol?"

"Eh, not for a while still," Bri replied. "They've got the Enterprise doing that for now, along with the Fire Ant and Emerald."

"Longer range scanners on the scout ships anyways," Troy said. "That and we already know about where the Cylons are."

"Any word about using the Colonial Bound to hurry back to Earth?" Bri asked.

"Yeah, I think Commander Adama is heading that way along with some of the Council of Twelve," Troy said. "I heard Ares talking about that. He'd retain full command of the fleet until Adama returned."

"So, who is in command," Bri asked.

"I believe Ares is maintaining control of the military from Earth. Adama will remain in charge of the fleet defense," Troy said. "I know a lot of people are wondering if we should attack the Cylons."

"We should while we hold an advantage," Bri stated. "I mean we've got the advantage in stealth, they can't see us, we should be able to strike deep into their territory without them knowing."

"I see, a deep strike, disable their abilities," Troy said pondering the idea for several seconds. There would be a lot of planning that would be involved in such an undertaking. But the problem he saw, involved over a hundred, barely held together, civilian ships, many of which should not be in operation at all. Once more ships arrived from Earth to help out, things would be better.

"I take it by the silence you're thinking about that," Bri asked.

"Of course," Troy said smiling about that. He figured it would be something to mention to Commander Ares about. He'd talk to him about it after the immediate crisis of the fleet was over.

BSGBSG

Pratt reviewed the following report from Commander Ares. The Galactica had been found, but the presence of so many ships had surprised him. He'd thought that only the Galactica and a few other ships might have survived, not over a hundred. Ares also mentioned that many ships were cargo movers with slow speed, and some should be scrapped right away.

The Hermes had already been sent along with some supplies for the fleet. The next part was building up the fleet at another point. If the Cylons were following the fleet then they'd need an advanced base from which to fight.

"Commander, how are things today," Pakrov asked entering the bridge of the Daedalus.

"Received more from Commander Ares. It appears the fleet the Galactica is leading isn't, well, what's the word, adequate," Pratt said.

"Is that a polite way of saying some ships are junk," Pakrov replied.

"If Ares' reaction is any indication, yes," Pratt told him. Pakrov chuckled a bit at that thought.

"What's the plan then?" Pakrov asked.

"It appears that Commander Adama, part of the Council of Twelve and a few other members might be heading to Earth on the Colonial Bound to begin preparations for diplomatic negotiations between Earth and the Colonies," Pratt said.

"So we might have an official visitor from the Colonies," Pakrov said. "Perhaps we should let the government know."

"I'll wait a bit until I know. Don't want to raise their hopes up or anything," Pratt said. "But we should let them know that perhaps several thousand are on their way."

Pakrov grunted in agreement at the statement. He wondered what the next year would hold.

BSGBSG

Troy watched as across the rec room Jax seemed to be in deep conversation with Boomer. He wondered just what the relationship had been between the two and if it had actually been serious or not.

"Mind if we join you," another voice said. He looked up to see Starbuck and Apollo standing there.

"No problem," Troy replied. He waited until they sat down before they said anything.

"I'll admit this is a surprise," Apollo said waving his hand around indicating the ship.

"Well, the mission was a surprise," Troy said. "I think Commander Cain wanted to keep this a secret just for this reason."

"Well, it worked, I just wish you'd arrived earlier," Apollo said.

"Yeah, but unfortunately the Arbus had a different plan for us. We lost a lot of good people in that war," Troy replied. "But we also gain a lot of friends."

"So what were the Arbus after," Starbuck said.

"Just keeping the other races in check technologically-wise," Troy said. "For some reason they were afraid of another race with the same technology."

"Interesting," Apollo said.

"Strangely enough they are nice people, just paranoid," Troy said. He didn't quite understand that himself but sometimes fear was a large motivator. He wondered what would have happened if the Argo hadn't arrived when it did, or what would have happened if the Galactica and its fleet had arrived in Arbus space? "So what happened to the armistice?"

He watched as Apollo and Starbuck shared a look before Apollo answered. "The fleet had gathered for the signing of the treaty. Zac, my brother, and I were on patrol when we encountered two empty Cylon tankers."

"Empty, what were they doing so close to the fleet?" Troy asked. It sounded strange to him.

"At the time we didn't know, so we went to investigate," Apollo replied. "Heading into the cover of the moon we found what was going on. Hundreds of raiders filled the sky and then chased us when we left to warn the fleet. They attacked us and we destroyed four but damaged my brother's viper. So I quickly headed back to warn the fleet."

"From what I heard Adama wanted to put the fleet on alert but the President over-ruled him. So the commander put the Galactica on alert, messed up a great hand," Starbuck said.

"What did the President say when the Cylons were approaching," Troy asked. That confused him a bit when the President should've known better.

"That's where Baltar came in. He kept the President from calling an alert and sabotaged the defenses of the Colonies," Apollo said. "Now he hunts us with a Cylon basestar."

"What was he to gain from helping the Cylons?" Troy asked.

"The only thing I can think of, total power over the Cylons. The enslavement of the human race," Apollo replied.

"Or perhaps the destruction of humanity," Troy said. "Perhaps the Cylons are really using him to destroy the remaining human fleet."

"Well, either way it doesn't really matter. We're hunted and without a home," Starbuck said.

"I think that's about to change," Troy said. "We have a supply base, thought its not close, and more ships with updated systems and designs and weapons. The Earthers adapt to technology very quickly."

"A fresh set of eyes," Apollo said. "Sometimes we get stuck, for example, the Galactica is almost five hundred yehrens old."

"And the Argo didn't have much design differences with the Galactica," Troy said. Things would change and Troy hoped it was for the better.

BSGBSG

Bri sat back turning slightly to make sure that Mary still slept. Nall was on patrol and Rebecca had duty on the bridge. So Bri was watching Mary. Almost everyone on board the Argo had come to watch out for the young girl. In fact Mary wasn't the only child on board the ship anymore. One of the women had given birth on the way.

Turning back to her paperwork she sighed a bit with the amount. Being squad leader sometimes sucked. Too much paperwork and not enough time in the viper. At least she didn't have to worry about training any new recruits. The voyage from Earth to the Colonies had meant everyone aboard had been trained. Now though, that might change with some additional recruits from the fleet.

"Bri, how are the reports coming," another pilot asked.

"Slowly, sometimes I wonder why we have to do these things," Bri said waving the data pad around. She had pretty much finished though. Just a few more to go, and report back to Earth who had been killed. The squad had been fortunate with only three lost. The pilots from the Galactica hadn't fared as well though. She'd heard they'd lost almost half of their pilots, of course they had been outnumbered over ten to one.

The addition of the Argo and Enterprise's vipers had evened up the odds very quickly. The Argo held almost eighty vipers and the Enterprise one hundred. Add to that the Galactica's eighty and that made two hundred and sixty vipers, not including spares.

"Well ma'am, I'm glad I don't have to do that yet," the other pilot said.

Bri glanced over at the ma'am part. She wasn't that old, not even thirty yet. They appeared about the same age, the only thing she could think of was her rank. "Well, I guess after a while you get use to it, maybe."

"If you say so," he replied. "What's the next step?"

Bri thought about that. A 'War Meeting' meeting had been called of all the ship's captains. "I've heard a 'war meeting' is next. Commander Ares wants to see what condition the fleet is in before embarking on any unnecessary repairs just yet."

"Oh, yeah, I guess that makes sense," the man replied. Bri noticed that he fell silent once more as she looked back over at Mary, who still was asleep.

She wondered what the future would hold for everyone. Would the war with the Cylons continue and if so, how long? She really wished she had the answers to those questions, but had to settle for the normal everyday answers.

BSGBSG

Ares glanced at the hanger as more people continued to arrive. The Enterprise had been chosen because it had the larger hangar. He glanced over at Commander Adama waiting to see if everyone had arrived. His captains were already there, at least those there. Captain Renee and Bruce would be absent. The scout ships were on the lookout for any new threats.

Ares could already hear the whispers of invisible ships, Earth and a lot of other things including Cain. The news of Cain's death hadn't spread though the fleet yet, but he hoped that Cain's decision to begin this mission might help the low morale of the fleet. His own fleet didn't have that problem yet, unlike the Colonial fleet. However a new life seemed present to him in the actions and words he heard.

Finally Adama walked up and took the stand. Ares watched as it took several seconds for the crowd to quiet down. He spotted his group standing around clustered off to the side. Most already understood what the situation was and what type of voyage back would be involved.

"All right, listen up everyone there's a lot going on that needs telling," Adama said trying to get silence in the hanger. The conversations died down as many realized their questions were about to be answered

Ares got himself ready knowing that he'd be one of the ones to be called upon to answer questions. Right now though Adama give everyone a slight briefing of what had occurred.

"I'm sure everyone has questions but if everyone waits until everything has been told then it might help answer most questions." Adama stated.

Ares listened as Adama mentioned what had happened during the fight and the orders that the captains had received. He knew that the situation the fleet had found themselves in wasn't good. The fleet had been overrun by superior forces. One battlestar against five basestars, not exactly great odds, even with the addition of his fleet, but with the firepower of the two cruisers it had even the odds.

"I understand that some questions will come from this but we've found a group from Earth," Adama said.

Ares heard the low whispers as Earth was mentioned. Many still, like he had, thought of Earth as a myth, a legend that didn't really exist. At least that's what he thought for a while, but slowly changed his mind then they reached Earth.

"I realize that many of you don't think Earth exists, but some commander of our military ten yehrens ago sent out an expedition to find the thirteenth tribe. Many here on this ship are from Earth, it's their home and they are here to help us," Adama said to them.

Ares could see a few of the Enterprise crewmembers watching with interest. They were from Earth listening to the conversation with interest. Not long ago they were in a similar situation when Earth was invaded by the Arbus. It had been the Colonials on board the Argo that had helped save Earth and fight a war.

"There are still several basestars out there so we'll need your cooperation in the future. I'd like every captain to fill out their ship's problems. We'll be slowly scrapping inadequate ships as other ships arrive. Earth is still a distance away from here so there are a few options, and with the addition of the new ships we have a slight advantage for now," Adama said to them.

Ares nodded his head in agreement at that. The decision to ferry several citizens and others from the fleet on board Earth ships would speed up the process especially if some of the slower ships could be scrapped, or used for another purpose.

"Commander Ares of the Earth fleet feels that we can start a convoy system to Earth ferrying people back to Earth and bringing back supplies for the fleet. Each voyage would reduce the strain on the remaining ship allowing some ships to be able to go faster," Adama said. "Questions?"

"Commander, why can't the ships that can go faster go with these ships," one ship captain asked.

Ares stepped forward for that question. "It's simple really, many of our ships are made of a stealth material that the Cylons can't track. They don't know about Earth or where it is. This is our advantage over the Cylons, something we haven't had in recent history."

"How would you know about the Cylons," another captain asked.

"I served on board the battlestar Pacifica for ten yehrens before being reassigned by Commander Cain for this mission," Ares stated.

"And what was this mission?"

"To find Earth and prepare it for the Cylons. Using the planet as a base of operations to create a new fleet, or in the worst case, a last stand," Ares replied.

"Right now with the help of Earth the fleet has an additional two battlestars, and seven support warships to go with six supply ships," Adama said.

"Each ship, with the exception of the Argo is made out of what is called S-metal," Ares said. "A metal that we discovered in our travels to Earth. With their help we were able to construct a new fleet."

"How far away are we?"

That had been a question Ares had been expecting. "At your current speed, about another six to eight yehrens. But with Earth ships the distance closes to about a half a yehren from this distance to the closest known base."

"Known base?" another question came.

"Yes, when the fleet left Earth we had started building a series of bases headed towards the Colonies to reduce supply time when the fleet had been found. At the time the first base wasmpleted and that was almost a yehren ago now. With the help of the Skartians I imagine that at least another two bases operational.

"Then you don't know," the captain asked.

"Due to the Cylons and the importance of secrecy only communications to Earth are allowed unless Earth has fallen under another attack," Ares said to the group.

"Another attack?" several voices said.

"That is a long story, but the Earth came under attack from a group called the Arbus, the war had just ended when news of the Colonies came," Ares told them. "I've sent my second-in-command the course information so supply ships don't have to worry about missing us."

"On the first voyage back several member of the council will be going as well as myself. It will be needed to start the process of preparing a path for our people once we reach Earth. I will return but the rest will be up to the council members," Adama said to the group. "While I'm gone Commander Ares will be in charge of the military of the fleet, and will take my place on the council."

Ares almost glanced at Adama at that announcement. He hadn't been expecting that. He'd have to talk to Adama about the Council and see what is going on and what he'd have to prepare for.

Continued in Reunions


	64. Chapter 64: Renunions

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Reunions**

The captain walked down the hallway of the ship. His ship had been one of the better ships in the fleet so he had the feeling he'd be there for a while longer, not that he minded, it was his home, had been for yehrens before the Cylons had destroyed the Colonies. Now he finally had a chance to repair battle damage down during attacks on the fleet.

"What's the report," he asked as his second walked up to him.

"We did as you asked, and found only a few major problems. We could use some new parts for the engines, especially these parts."

The captain glanced down looking over the list. Many components were normal wear and tear on the engines. Once they were replaced the engines would be running better once again. "All right, I'll let the commander know."

"So is this true, those ships are from Earth?" he was asked.

"Yep, seems old Cain commissioned the mission himself without permission of the council," he replied passing a group of people in the hallway.

"Excuse me, did you mention Earth," an older woman asked.

"Yes ma'am, the rumors of the fleet from Earth is true," the captain replied.

"I see," she said. "Thank you."

He watched her quickly walk off before he turned back to his second to continue the inspection of the ship.

BSGBSG

Bri glanced across the room where Troy was heading her direction with a tray of food. The Colonial Bound had been stocked, as had many other ships. In all five supply ships were heading back to Earth. With so many critical supply ships Commander Ares had decided to send an additional destroyer with the ships.

"So, what's the news now," Bri asked as the tray was set down in front of her..

"It seems that Commander Adama and Ares have finished their last meeting. Three older ships emptied and the techs are now going over the ships looking for anything usable and transferring it to the remaining supply ship," Troy replied.

Bri thought about that for several seconds before replying. "I think a lot of people are glad we showed up."

"Yeah, don't let this out but there's a lot of ships that are barely holding together, in fact they should be scrapped now," Troy replied.

"Can we take any passengers on, relieve the pressure on those ships," Bri asked.

"That's one thing I wanted to talk to you about. It seems that Commander Ares already thought of that. He's asking for everyone to condense quarters for the next couple of months," Troy told her.

Bri hated to think that they would lose their quarters and privacy but also understood it was for a small time. "Well, what's your plan?"

"Well, I thought about Nall, Rebecca and Mary,"' Troy replied.

"Well, he hasn't tried anything on me for a while now, I think that has to do with Mary," Bri said. "Do you think it's a good idea?"

"It's either that or someone else we don't know," Troy said back to her.

"Do you think we can all fit in here?" Bri said looking around.

"Actually I was thinking of the other way around, us going to their quarters," Troy answered.

Bri opened her mouth then shut it realizing that Troy was right. Nall and Rebecca had the larger quarters over theirs. Add to that the fact that four people might be able to share this room, it would unlikely that Rebecca and Nall would lose theirs with the fact they had Mary.

"I guess then we could when the time comes," Bri finally said.

"Captain Troy," the intercom said paging him.

Bri watched as he walked over to answer. Pressing the intercom then replying for the message.

"Yes captain, we have a message for you from one of the ships in the fleet," the reply came back.

Bri watched the puzzled look in his face before he answered. "What type of message?"

"I don't know but they asked for you by name."

BSGBSG

Ares glanced over at where Apollo and Starbuck were talking. Adama had gone back to the Galactica talk some more with the council. He would have gone as well, but some reports were needed to be sent to Earth.

He had the latest reports of the fleet and they didn't look that good. At least thirty ships needed immediate repairs or be scrapped.

"I think this one should be the one," he heard Apollo say.

"It's a tossup Apollo," Starbuck replied.

"I know, but a decision needs to be made so I can tell my father," Apollo said.

Ares understood the decision they were trying to make. What ship would be unloaded first and what passengers would be taken to Earth. A decision he actually was glad not to be part of. The last thing he really wanted to do was make that decision.

"You do realize there is limited room on the Colonial Bound," he finally said to the two men.

"Yeah, but we also know that the Argo and Enterprise can hold some additional people as well. That will help the situation of the fleet greatly," Apollo said. "We're just trying to figure out the best ships to start with first."

He nodded his head in agreement at that statement. He wondered what the people of the fleet would think once they encountered Earth. Even though they were the same, there were some cultural differences that at first seemed too large to bridge. But he had learned that the basic similar ideas still existed in every person.

"How many council members are going?" he asked.

"My father says two," Apollo replied. "They've decided that they still are needed here at the fleet."

Ares wasn't sure he liked that idea. He'd be dealing with them, of course he had dealt with the Earth's government for a decade now. He had to remember that things were slightly different with the Colonial council, but many times politicians were the same.

"Commander, I've got the captain of the Star Voyager on wanting to talk to you," Rebecca said interrupting anything else.

Ares figured it might be something the captain had forgotten and wanted to add it now. He nodded to Rebecca who relayed the message to where he sat. "Captain, what can I do for you?"

"Well, this an unusual request," the captain replied. "It seems I've got two passengers who want to know about someone."

Ares at first was a bit confused by the request then realized that while many crewmembers of the Argo had been orphans there were a few who had families. Perhaps someone had survived everything. "I'll try."

"Good, they are looking for someone named Troy."

Ares almost fell out of his chair at hearing who he was asking for. Then he wondered who'd be asking for Troy. A family member, he knew that Troy had family before they left, and even received a message from his mother and father when the Colonial Bound had briefly returned to the Colonies.

"I think he's still on board the Argo. I'll send someone over to find out," Ares said. "Page Captain Troy and have him come to the bridge.

BSGBSG

Troy walked up to the bridge not sure who would be asking for him. Sure he had talked with a few of the ship captains, but so far no one who would request talking to him. Commander Ares stood in his normal spot on the bridge as Troy walked in. Bri right behind him as they continue up to where he stood.

"Troy, glad you made it," Ares said. "Captain, this is the only Troy I know of."

Troy glanced down at the screen but didn't really recognize the man. "Captain I understand someone want to talk with me?"

"Captain Troy, yes, at least I hope it's the right people," the captain replied. Troy watched as he turned away from the screen to be replaced by another face. He stared at it in a bit of shock not really expecting to see that face again.

"Dad?"

"Hello son," his father said. "I had a feeling you were here, is that your wife behind you there."

"Um," Troy mumbled a bit not really able to comprehend what had just happened.

"Hello, my name's Bri," he heard Bri say. "We got your message a few years, I mean yehrens ago."

"Ah yes, the one that startled the poor captain. I had to explain a few things considering that no one else knew about your mission," he said.

"What a minute, if your here, why didn't you say anything to Commander Adama," Troy replied.

"Well, things have been hard for the survivors, but I'll explain it more when we come over. Your mom can't wait to meet Bri," he said.

An older woman's face suddenly appear. "Hello Troy, Bri," she said before exciting the screen.

"Well, I guess," Troy said not sure what to say.

"They can take our quarters, allowing someone to go to a civilian ship if they don't want to go to a military ship," Bri replied reasonability. "Unless your ship needs major repairs."

"Nah, the Star Voyager was made for longer space trips, better engines, and hull than many other ships," his dad replied.

"Then its settled," Bri said.

Troy felt a bit unsettled by everything that went on. His parents were alive, and appeared to be doing well, had accepted Bri without any question. She seemed more at ease with everything than he did.

"Well, I guess," Troy finally managed to say.

"It's a great idea," Ares said. "I know that few people don't want to be on board the battlestars."

"And several want to come here," his dad added in.

"Then we have a plan," Bri said with a slight jump.

"Well pack up and meet you on board the Argo then when the moves begin happening," his dad said. "We'll talk later about everything then."

"We'll be there," Bri replied.

Troy thought about the fact that his parents had survived. So many hadn't survived the holocaust it seemed unreal to him at the moment. Perhaps his father had visions of the event occurring already and already knew that this reality was a possibility. Now he'd be able to introduce his wife, Nall, Rebecca and Mary to them. The people who he'd considered family for so long now increased.

BSGBSG

Bri sat back in their new quarters watching Troy as he paced back and forth. Nall had left not long ago to see about Mary and perhaps relieve Rebecca a bit. She was a bit glad for the chance to be able to talk to Troy about the fact his parents had survived the attack. Ever since they had found out he'd been quiet.

"What're you thinking about," she finally asked him. She didn't think it had anything to do with the simple fact they survived. Everything he'd ever said about his parents had been positive. She didn't think he and his parents had any conflicts.

She watched as he looked over for a few seconds before finally replying. "Well, I guess I feel both happy and guilty at the same time. So many didn't survive that to have not one but both parents alive seems like a small miracle."

"You said your dad has the same abilities that you do, perhaps he knew the Cylons didn't want peace," Bri said.

"Then why didn't he say anything," Troy replied.

"And who would have listened? If Adama couldn't get anyone to listen what chance would your father have had? Bri argued reasonably.

"Are you trying to use logic against me?" he asked.

"Um, is it working," Bri replied already knowing the answer by Troy's face.

"I shouldn't say yes, but it is," he said. "I guess that's why I married you then."

"I knew I had a smart husband," Bri said. "That reminds me, our anniversary is coming up."

"Well, I'd take you to Hawaii, but that's a bit of a trip," Troy said.

"How about a romantic dinner and an evening with your parents," Bri replied.

"Well, the dinner yes, but my parents?" Troy said. She could hear his confusion in his voice.

"Yes, you know, they can tell me every embarrassing story on you they know. It'll be romantic, at least for me," she said smiling.

"Great," Troy replied covering his eyes with his hand.

"It should be fun," Bri said. She couldn't wait to meet his parents. She could only hope they liked her as much as she hoped they did.

BSGBSG

Troy watched as the shuttle landed. He still couldn't get over the fact that his parents survived the holocaust. The shuttle doors opened allowing the first group of people out who would be living aboard the Argo. The commander was on hand to welcome them aboard. He didn't have to wait long until he noticed his mother and father walking off the shuttle.

"Mom, dad, over here," Troy said giving a wave. He'd been worried but the moment he spotted them all worries disappeared. They looked a bit older, but that was to be expected, after all over ten years had passed since he'd last seen them.

He quickly walked over to where they were standing giving them a hug. After breaking apart he knew that he'd have to introduce his wife to them now.

"Mom, dad, this is Bri," he said. In the back of his mind he still held a bit of doubt about how his parents would react to her. They had said they approved but that had been before they had met her.

"Hello Bri, we've wondered if we'd ever see you," his dad said.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you," Bri said. "A lot's happened in the past couple of yehrens."

"That's true," he replied. Troy watched as his father turned to the commander. "And you must be Commander Ares. I've seen good things about you."

Troy watched as Ares' eyebrow went up at that statement. "Well, hopefully I've lived up to it, though I think I've lived up to my name on Earth."

"Really, what's that?" Troy's mom replied.

"Well," Ares said, hesitating slightly.

"It's like this," Troy explained. "His name is associated with an ancient god on Earth, specifically the god of war."

Troy watched as his mother and father laughed at that. "That fits then," his father replied. Even Ares chuckled a bit at that and it felt good to have some sort of ice breaker.

"So, we're to be staying on this ship, I've never even been on a warship before," his mother said.

It sounded odd that for a people who'd been at war for so long to have never been on a warship. But his mother had been one who had worked with the education department. His father had been a fighter pilot for several yehrans before becoming a trainer back at the colonies. That's where they met and starting dating. Now they stood on board another ship bound for a planet that until recently had been a myth. This would be different indeed.

Instead it was Bri that came to his rescue. "Don't forget about these three," she said to him.

Troy glanced over noticing that Nall, Rebecca and Mary were standing there. "I didn't forget, just, well, forgot for a second," he said daring her to say anything.

"He forgot," she said turning to his parents. "This rogue here, is Nall, his wife Rebecca, and their daughter Mary."

"Any friend of my son's is a friend of mine," his father said. "Come on, let's get settle in, I think you're mother's ready to hear everything that we all know."

Troy had to agree there. If his father had known about his marriage, then he might have had other visions as well. He hadn't had one in a long time, or at least anything significant recently. The last vision had been about the Pegasus, and it survival, not destruction. The group walked off the hanger headed towards Bri and Troy's old quarters.

BSGBSG

Adama stood on the bridge of the Galactica instructing Tigh about the fleet, and gaining last minute updates. So far many ships of the fleet needed repair, including the Galactica herself. He turned hearing footsteps as Apollo, Starbuck and Boomer walked onto the bridge.

"I wasn't expecting to see you three so soon," Adama said to them.

"Well, I wanted to talk to you," Apollo said.

"I had the feeling you did," Adama said. "It's the same thing Tigh and I were talking about. How can we trust them, are they who they say they are. That's why I have to go, to find out the truth."

"I know, I just wish you weren't going," Apollo said.

"Why doesn't one of us go instead?" Starbuck asked.

"As much as I wish we could, if they are telling the truth, and Earth is that far away, then we need to start preparations now, not later," Adama said. "I've already spoken to Tigh, and I should let you three know as well in case this is some trap or trick. When I return, there will be a code word, something only you four will know."

"In case the Cylons have discovered how to clone you," Boomer said. "There's always voice print identification."

"Yes, and I expect you to use that as well, but I'll also say something else, something unusual," Adama said.

"I hope they are telling the truth," Tigh said. "It's been a great boost for morale."

"I know it sure boosted my morale," Starbuck replied.

"I think they are for real," Boomer said speaking up for the first time.

"Why do you say that Boomer?" Adama asked really wanting to know.

"Well, I met an old flame from back in my academy days, she disappeared on a mission shortly afterwards," Boomer said. "I just find it highly unlikely that if this is a Cylon trap they'd know about her and me."

"True, but we can't afford to take chances either," Adama said. "I must also think of our people, they've been though a lot and now morale is at an all time high. If this is a trap it could destroy us completely."

He could see that everyone there wanted to believe the story that Commander Ares had told them. If it turned out to be true then things would become either easier or harder depending on how the Earth government and the council got along.

"I'm going to pack a few things, keep the fleet together until I return," he told them. "Tigh, you have the bridge until I return, for the moment get along with Commander Ares, at least within reason, but your first priority is the fleet. Commander Ares knows this, and if he's a good commander he'll understand."

"I think we don't have anything to worry about there," Boomer said. "We'll have the more dangerous mission, but you'll have the harder mission."

"You might be right about that," Adama replied. There were a lot of unknowns he'd have to face. The fleet mainly had to face the Cylons. That was at least a known threat.

BSGBSG

Troy walked into the room along with his parents and Bri. Commander Ares had gone back to the hanger to make sure everything went well and Rebecca and Nall had taken Mary back to the quarters for a nap. His parents didn't have much, a few items, pictures and some clothing but nothing else.

"So, this is where you called home for the past ten yehrens?" his mother asked.

"Kinda," Troy replied. "We also have a small apartment on Earth for when we're on leave or the Argo is undergoing refits or repairs."

"It's nice," his father said looking around. "Are you going to be fine sharing a room with a child?"

"We keep Mary quite a bit anyways, so it's really working out even better," Troy told him.

"So, how'd you meet?" his mother asked looking at Bri.

"On the Argo," she replied. Troy watched as his wife kept a straight face at the answer then over at his mother who held the same grin.

"I hope so," she finally said.

"Troy was the squadron leader and it was my first mission. It was hard not to bump into each other on the yeahren long voyage," Bri said. "I think the first time things really progressed was on furlough on that one planet."

Troy thought about that having to think way back to before they found Earth for that. "Oh yeah, that's the first time I kiss you."

"Yeah, that was hard on Nall," Bri said.

"Nall?" Troy's mother asked.

"He's had a crush on me for a long time, I never thought more of him than a brother," Bri said.

"I think up to that point he seemed fine with it, but then he realized he'd never have your heart like I do," Troy said. "He didn't speak to me for a few days, Jax finally told me what happened."

"I take it he got over it?" his mother asked again.

"Yeah, he doesn't dwell on things for long, and it was shortly after that he met Rebecca," Troy said. "Rebecca is from Earth."

"Oh, so things have worked out?" his mother asked.

"Yeah, I think so," Troy replied. "Now how did you survive the attack?"

"Ah, that was something I didn't understand until just before it happened," his father said. "I had a vision, and a strange one."

"Had my share of those in the past couple of years," Troy answered.

"I bet, well anyways the vision showed destruction, everything shaking. I first assumed that it had to be an earthquake by the shaking that was going on. I had only one real clue that didn't make any sense to me. A blue flash," he said.

"A Cylon laser bolt," Bri said.

"Exactly," he replied. "Only at the time I didn't know it. I assumed it had to be a flash from an exploding power circuit or something like that. Buildings were on fire and collapsing all around us. It reminded me so much of the quake on Gemini fifteen yeahrens ago."

"I remember," Troy said. The images of the destruction had been devastating.

"Well, it wasn't until the day of the attack that I figure out what the vision really was," his father said. "By then the attack had begun, I had no way of stopping it, but with the knowledge I was able to keep us alive, then when news about the Galactica came I knew that would be our best chance."

"Some stayed behind, but I don't think they'll be able to survive," his mother told them. "The Cylons were systematically eliminating any human they came in contact with."

"I also knew that we meet again son," his father said.

"You did?" Troy asked wondering if he would mention another vision.

"Yes, you see I saw us, standing, well, here talking. So I never doubted that we'd meet again, I just didn't know when," he replied.

Troy thought about that for several seconds wondering what else his father had seen that might come in useful one day. "Anything that we might be able to use?"

"Just one confusing thing," he replied. "I had a vision of some strange smaller people, they seem to be at odds with us, but I don't know why."

"How long ago did you have that vision?" Troy asked.

"Well, it was shortly after you left, but I've had so many over the years it was the only other one, besides the vision of your joining, that I've had," he said.

"Was there a table, and we were sitting around it. Me, Commander Ares, Bri, and a few others all with them," Troy asked.

"Yea, and a few other strange-looking creatures, but an aide walked in handing the commander a message, like something had happened between the groups," his father said.

"I know what you're talking about," Troy said. "That was a peace conference between Earth and the Arbus, when we received news that the Colonies had been destroyed. I had the same vision as well."

"Well, it seems that most of my visions then have come true then," he replied to Troy.

"Same here, nothing major that I know about. I guess we'll leave you to get settled for the moment. We'll be back in a few centons," Troy said.

"All right, your mother will need a tour of the ship," he said.

Bri and Troy walked out to leave his parents to settle in before doing anything else. They still had to settle in their new quarters as well.

Continued in Cylons Attack


	65. Chapter 65: Cylons Attack

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Cylons Attack**

Pratt looked around the bridge of the current flagship of the Earth fleet, the Daedalus. President Chang had asked about any latest updates from the fleet and the Galactica. The last news had been the Argo had encountered the fleet from the Colonies as a devastating Cylon attack had occurred. Now they were waiting for any word on what the next step would be. The long distance made the communications hard.

"Sir, incoming message from the Argo," the communications officer said. Pratt sighed a bit knowing that now they'd have news, but the next thing would be what type of news.

"Put it up here," Pratt said waiting for the data to be placed on the screen. A few seconds later he had the information he needed. The Argo and her fleet had successfully helped defend against the Cylon attack. However it now appeared that the fleet was dangerously low on supplies. A few of the empty ships were to be sent ahead back to Earth for resupply. They'd send a list of supplies needed for the fleet.

However it was the last part of the message that got Pratt. Commander Adama along with several others of the council would be heading back on board the Colonial Bound. He wondered how the council and the Earth government would get along. He knew that the council could be stubborn and the Earth government could be as well. He just hoped they didn't get stuck on something insignificant and lose sight of the fact that the Cylons were probably following the Colonial fleet.

That thought brought up something else. How were they going to make sure the Cylons didn't know about Earth and attack them here. Perhaps they could create a way to use the empty ships as a diversion fleet to lure the Cylons away from Earth, then attack the Cylon Empire directly. He'd have to think about that a bit more but a plan already began forming in his mind. He'd wait and hash out some detail and he'd need some information from Commander Adama, but he thought it might work. Now he'd have to get the President's approval as well. If he started working on him now it might be ready by the time the Colonial Bound returned.

BSGBSG

Nall and Bri walked onto the hangar of the Argo's alpha landing bay making their way over to their patrol vipers. So far the Cylons had backed off but they still knew where the basestars were. It appeared that whoever was in charge had brought up reinforcements from the empire.

"Well, so far things have gone well, but I think they are almost in position ahead of the fleet for their ambush of the fleet," Nall said over to Bri. He began checking his viper to make sure everything was in order.

"I heard Commander Ares talking about that with Colonel Tigh. They seem to think that the Cylons might believe they have an advantage. But we still need to protect the fleet. Reinforcements are not coming anytime soon now," Bri said.

"It'd be at least seven or so months before they arrived," Nall replied logically.

"I know," Bri said.

"You know, I never thought I say this but I almost feel like Earth is my home now," Nall said.

"Well, you've settled down, have a family, a home on Earth, things have changed," Bri replied back to him.

Nall thought about that for a few seconds. "You're right about that. Are you sure that Troy's parents are fine with watching over Mary?"

"Are you kidding, when we dropped her off it was like Mary was their grandchild. Don't worry about it, in fact I wouldn't be surprised if Mary's calling them grandma and grandpa when we return," Bri said.

Nall thought about that as well as he climbed into his viper. They had a job to do, and that was to find out what the Cylons were up to. They received clearance to launch. He pressed the turbo button and felt the viper accelerate down the launch tube then out into space.

BSGBSG

Baltar sat on his command chair watching as two centurions and Lucifer walked in. He waited a few seconds after they stopped before saying anything. "Report Lucifer."

"By your command, the Imperious Leader wasn't happy to learn about your losses," Lucifer replied.

"I've found the Galactica didn't I," Baltar replied raising an eyebrow.

"Yes, but the loss of one basestar isn't being taken too well," Lucifer said.

"They have another battlestar," Baltar replied.

"Long range scans of the fleet do not indicate any other Colonial warships. Our patrol craft have ventured as close as possible and still have only found one warship," Lucifer said.

"Then send our patrols closer," Baltar replied. "We must know before the attack."

"The Imperious Leader will not be happy with that order. If the Galactica finds out what is ahead they might change course," Lucifer said.

"And if their hiding another battlestar, that would ruin any surprise attack the Imperious Leader has ordered," Baltar replied. "Carry out my order, I'll deal with the Imperious Leader."

"By your command," Lucifer said turning and leaving the room. Baltar already knew that there had to be another battlestar hiding in the Colonial fleet, and that it had to be the Pegasus. Nothing else made sense to him. Now he only had to figure out how Cain and the Pegasus survived and how to destroy it.

The ambush he figured would only succeed in confirming another battlestar and he planned on holding back until he knew for sure the location of the Pegasus. If he could find that ship then he'd be able to surprise the Colonials as well.

BSGBSG

Bri kept an eye on her scanners as she and Nall closed in on one of the basestars. It felt odd to be fighting the Cylons again after fighting the Arbus for so long that she had to shift her mental thinking to fight the Cylons. They were machines who wanted to eliminate every human.

Movement on her scanner caught her attention. A single Cylon patrol craft appeared to have launched from the basestar. She glanced over to Nall catching his attention before pointing down at her scanner. She watched as he looked down then back up at her nodding.

She turned her viper heading towards the Cylon patrol craft. She glanced down noticing that Nall was right behind her. She also had a rough estimation of how close they could get before the Cylons picked them up on their scanners. As a result Bri kept a close eye on her range to make sure she didn't come too close.

Flipping a switch she activated her attack computer then waited for the raider to get further away from the basestar. Nall lined up beside her communicating with hand signals.

"What to do, what do you think I'm going to do," Bri mumbled to herself at Nall's question. She was going to destroy the raider. It might confuse the Cylon leadership even more. She signaled back her plan watching as Nall nodded his head then they waited for the raider to get further away.

After several minutes of following the raider passed the distance that she figured would be safe. A quick signal to Nall who nodded she went to turbo quickly closing the distance on the raider. Nall would begin jamming the raider as she approached for the kill.

The growl of the missile lock indicated the missile had acquired the target. Pressing the release a single missile left the bay under her viper. Streaking straight towards the raider she watched as it tried to turn a second too late. The missile ran true destroying the target.

Now she'd report back to Commander Ares on what had happened.

BSGBSG

"Commander," Rebecca said from her position on the bridge.

Ares looked over from where he'd been talking with Troy. "Yes?"

"Incoming message from the patrol," she replied.

"Put it up here," Ares said wondering what news had occurred now. He'd been in constant communication with Tigh over the upcoming battle that the Cylons had planned.

"Captain we destroyed a scout ship from the lone basestar," Bri said.

Ares glanced at the map that indicated where each basestar currently was. Talking with Tigh they had concluded that one had to be commanded by Baltar.

"Give Baltar something to think about, not bad," Ares said. "Continue the mission before returning. If another scout is launched let it go."

"Yes sir," Bri replied.

Ares waited until the screen went blank before activating it again to talk with Tigh.

"Colonel, it seems that you're probably right, that basestar is probably Baltar's," Ares said.

"Commander Adama would agree," Tigh said. "As much as I'd like to destroy him, I think our first priority will be what looks like a planned ambush."

Ares nodded his head in agreement at that. "The Tiger and Enterprise are already in route to the planned ambush spot."

"Then I'll keep the fleet on course like nothing's happened," Tigh said.

"The Galactica's job is keep the fleet safe," Ares said.

"No worries here about that," Tigh said.

"Good, that will allow us to fight more effectively against the Cylons," Ares said.

The communication ended allowing Ares to glance again at the map. There were five Cylon basestars, three waiting in ambush ahead, one behind and then he had what they assumed was Baltar's basestar off to the side. He had three baattlestars, two gunstars, and several smaller ships under his command. He was outnumbered but not out foxed yet.

"Tell Enterprise and Leapord their main objective is the landing bays of the basestars," Ares said. "Any word from the Fire Ant?"

"Yes sir, just a moment ago. Captain Renee states that the three Cylon basestars in front have finally settled in," Rebecca replied.

Ares nodded knowing that the time for battle was closing quickly. He had moved his pieces and could only hope that the Cylons didn't know about his ships. Now all he could do was wait for the moment to attack.

BSGBSG

Baltar watched as Lucifer walked back into his command room. The fact that the Cylon had come back so quickly meant one of two things, either the patrol had already encountered the other battlestar, or something else more sinister had happened.

"Report Lucifer."

"By your command Baltar," Lucifer replied.

"You've found the Pegasus?"

"Not exactly," Lucifer reported hesitantly. Baltar knew that such a stalling tactic by Lucifer meant the Cylon had bad news to report.

"What happened Lucifer?" Balter asked no in the mood to ask a lot of questions.

"Shorty after our patrol ship left it was destroyed by an unknown source."

"Unknown?" Baltar asked looking down at Lucifer. This wasn't what he had expected.

"Nothing appeared on our scanners, nor did the scout ship report anything," Lucifer said. "It is quite unusual indeed, what do you make of it?"

Baltar leaned back thinking about that for several seconds before saying anything. "No reports of vipers?"

"No Baltar."

"Has there been any report by any of the other basestars of bright lights?"

"No, it's much like the last battle. Many reports of an unseen enemy that could not be seen on the scanners," Lucifer said.

"So, Adama has managed to perfect a type of stealth material then," Baltar said thinking about that. "A squadron of stealth vipers could give him a tremendous advantage over even multiple basestars."

"Should we inform the Imperious Leader?" Lucifer asked.

"No, I doubt he would fully understand such a thing," Baltar said. He knew that a failure here would be the leader's fault, not his. That would allow him some time to maneuver and maybe make himself a hero while destroying the Galactica once and for all.

BSGBSG

Ares glanced over at the scanners again. 'Baltar's' basestar had gone further away from what would be the action. He had a feeling that Baltar might know what was going on. This led him to an idea that might help them out.

"Get me Captain Renee," he said quickly. He only had to wait a few seconds until Renee's face appeared.

"Commander, what can I do for you?" she asked.

"I need you to do something for me," Ares said. "Does the Fire Ant have holographic technology?"

"Holo-" Renee stammered. Ares watched as she thought about that for a few seconds. "Yes, we do have a limited holographic ability, why?"

"I think we can get Baltar's basestar to leave the area for a while. If another patrol is sent out, have the Cylon patrol 'encounter a squad of vipers," Ares said.

"And if they attack this squadron," Renee asked.

"Then have them disappear," Ares said. "That'll cause some concern for Baltar, and the Cylons. It might also cause them to look in the wrong direction," Ares said.

"All right, if I get the chance," Renee replied.

"Good," Ares said. He turned after ending the communications back to the scanner. Everything seemed to be in place, now all he had to do was wait.

BSGBSG

Tigh stood on the bridge of the Galactica knowing that the fleet was headed towards an ambush didn't make him feel any better. All ships had been informed of what would happen and what they were to do. Two destroyers were deployed in the fleet to act as fighter defense against any Cylon attack. They had also positioned the Galactica out in front of the fleet with the Argo and Hornet off to the side.

"Commander," Omega said breaking Tigh's thoughts. He turned waiting to see what was going on. "WE have movement coming from the asteroid belt.

"So it begins," Tigh said. "All right, prepare fighter patrol to check it out. Notify the Argo of what's going on."

He watched as Omega relayed the message to the launch bay as Athena relayed the message to Commander Ares on the Argo. The Cylons would expect a patrol from the Galactica. Tigh had agreed with Ares to lead the Cylons into thinking that the Galactica really was alone.

Two vipers launched from the Galactica's bays and Tigh knew that they were headed towards the Cylons. He also knew what a dangerous assignment this was. Glancing at the names he hoped that Sheba and Bojay came back safely.

"Sound red alert, all pilots ready to scramble," Tigh said.

The bridge of the Galactica became full of activity as everyone began to race into action. He only hoped the Cylons hadn't discovered the other battlestars yet.

BSGBSG

Bri stood with Nall, Jax and several others. She noticed that Jax stood with one of the Galactica pilots who had come over. It took her a few seconds to remember his name, Boomer. They had gathered in the hanger as the fleet had begun approaching the Cylon ambush. She turned to see Troy standing next to her also waiting.

"I hate waiting," she finally said.

"I know you do," she heard Troy replied. "There's not much you can do until the Cylon ambush has fallen into our trap."

"A trap for a trap, a bit ironic," Bri replied. That didn't sound right to her and seemed headed for failure. But she also hoped that Commander Ares had thought everything though. He and Colonel Tigh had thought that the Cylons figured the Pegasus had rejoined the fleet once more so they were attacking with strength and what appeared to be a tactical advantage.

She would have said more but the Argo went to red alert. "All right, its time," she said to her squadron. The group quickly headed to their vipers knowing that another battle was about to take place. Bri glanced once more at Troy then climbed into her fighter. Running though the pre-flight checklist she warmed up her thrusters.

"All squadrons you are clear for launch," she heard Rebecca's voice say.

"Understood core command, let's go get 'em," she said pressing the turbo button. Her fighter quickly accelerated shooting out of the launch tube and into space. Looking down she watched as the rest of her squadron lined up with her. Already she could see the Cylon raiders starting to launch in preparation for the attack.

The Cylon basestar behind them had now launched their attack heading towards the fleet. As planned the Galactica would turn back and head towards the threat while the fleet began moving forward into the trap. Now they'd begin to spring their own trap.

"Green squadron, line up and attack," Bri said. Their main objective would be eliminating the raiders before they could attack them. To do that each member of green squadron had four missiles ready for action. She looked as the vipers lined up heading towards the Cylons who were launching raiders.

"All groups, break and attack," Commander Ares voice said.

"Let's go," Bri said to her squad. Her attack computer quickly spotted a target gaining a lock for the missile. Pressing the weapon release the missile streaked out heading right for the Cylon raider as other missiles were also launched. The battle was engaged.

BSGBSG

Baltar watched as Lucifer walked into the room. The attack should have begun. He didn't want to join with the knowledge that something else was out there that they couldn't identify. "Report Lucifer."

"The battle with the Galactica had begun. Are you sure you don't want to join Baltar," Lucifer replied to him.

"I'm sure Lucifer, there's more going on here than we know. If the Imperious Leader wishes to waste several basestars in this battle without proper knowledge then he can," Baltar said.

"And if the Imperious Leader asks for our help?"

"Tell him I won't waste another basestar without knowledge of what we're up against. If he's asking for help then he underestimated what he was up against," Baltar replied.

"By your command," Lucifer replied walking out.

"Oh, Lucifer, let me know when the Galactica has defeated this ambush," Baltar said. "Then we can begin planning our next move."

He watched Lucifer bow again then walked out. He knew something else had to be going on. There were reports of another battlestar, and more vipers than what the Galactica could have. What else was out there? He had to find out only then could he destroy the Galactica and Adama.

BSGBSG

Ares watched as the Cylon raiders in front of him were engaged by green and red squadrons from the Argo. The Argo herself had now moved into position in front of the fleet closing in on the three basestars in front of him. The Galactica had turned heading to the rear basestar as had many of its fighters. He hoped that the Enterprise and Leopard had received the message. The S-metal made it difficult to spot even on the Argo's scanners after the improvements that had been made.

"All squadrons have engaged," Rebecca said.

Ares glanced at the control panel indicating the action that was going on. He had positioned his pieces in what he hoped had been a strategic way to maximize his forces. Now he could only rely on Gunther's skill in handling the Enterprise. Gunther had experience in battlestar command as he commanded the Warspite but transferred command to come on this mission.

"Entering attack range in ten seconds," Rebecca's voice said. "Cylon raiders appear confused. Green and Red squads are maintaining their distance."

Ares nodded his head at that new. It meant that the Cylons would be in the dark about the true force they were up against. Sure the new Vipers were more maneuverable and held greater firepower but they still had to probably fight their way through another seven months before any hope of replenishment could arrive.

"We have entered weapons range," Aaron said to him.

"Hold fire," Ares said. He wanted a better shot before engaging. "Get me the Enterprise."

He watched as Rebecca worked to bring up the other battlestar. In a few seconds Commander Gunther's face appeared on the screen. "Commander, what's up?"

"Try and stay outside detection range of the Cylon basestars. I'd like to keep some advantage if I can," Ares said. "The longer we can keep the Cylons in the dark about how many warships we have the better it will be for us. It might keep them at bay longer."

"Understood," Gunther replied. "I'll relay the message to the Leopard as well."

"Good," Ares said.

"Still closing," Aaron said.

"Open fire," Ares said finally.

The order quickly relayed to the the weapon systems on the Argo opened fire on the closest basestar. Weapons from the battlestar quickly caught the Cylons unaware as no return fire came.

"It appears we have achieved surprise," Aaron said.

"Continue firing, let's not give them time to regroup," Ares said.

BSGBSG

Troy turned his viper again watching for any sign that their defenses were weakening against the Cylons. The last thing he wanted was unnecessary losses because he hadn't been paying attention.

The Argo had joined the battle causing the three basestars to hesitate even more. Looking behind him he noticed that the Galactica appeared to be holding its own at the moment. That would be good news for everyone as it would allow them to not have to worry about them.

"Three raiders trying to flank us, Obaru you see them," Troy said.

"Got them," he heard Obaru reply. Two vipers broke formation heading that way. He continued looking at his scanners for any new developments.

The raiders had been decimated early on and now many appeared lost in their movements. IT was something Troy hadn't seen too much of in his combat experience with the Cylons. A bright flash indicated the loss of a basestar.

He could see that the Enterprise and Leopard had joined the battle. The destroyers had stayed with the fleet to provide close in fighter support. As he vectored another two vipers in to another area he realized that this type battle defiantly was very different than anything else he'd done before. This battle was long distance where he seemed to be fighting with missiles instead of dog fighting. He couldn't ever remember anything like this. They'd tried early on but had given up for lack of ability to keep the distance.

"Argo hit, Argo hit," a panicked voice said over the radio. He switched his communications over to the Argo waiting to hear anything.

"Argo come in," Troy finally asked.

A few seconds of silence and Troy thought of everything from the ship destroyed to the communications had been hit. Another flash and he knew another capital ship had been destroyed. He felt relieved when he heard Rebecca's voice finally. "Argo here, we took a hit on the bridge, knocked the computers out for a few seconds, but we're mostly fine," she said.

"Good, do you require assistance," he heard Gunther's voice say.

"No," Commander Ares' voice replied. "All groups continue the attack."

Troy nodded then went back to his fighters. He also knew that Rebecca's voice would have helped calm Nall down. That and the fact they took a hit on the bridge meant that his parents and Mary would be safe still.

He watched as another group of Cylons came in. This would be the last of the missiles for his group. After that they'd have to close the distance and return to dog fighting.

BSGBSG

Tigh concentrated on the basestar to the rear of the fleet. He heard that the Argo had been hit, but to continue the fight. He was a bit relieved to hear Commander Ares voice. The basestar appeared a bit confused by its actions when the Galactica hadn't stopped when the front basestars attacked.

"Damage to Alpha bay," Omega said.

"Damage control," Tigh replied suddenly having a flash back to the last time the Galactica had fought a basestar. He'd said almost the same thing to Commander Adama.

"Critical damage to the basestar," Omega said.

Tigh watched as the basestar suddenly exploded. He let out a sigh of relief at that. He glanced at the scanner and the extended scanner from the Argo noticing that three of the five basestars had been destroyed. It also appeared that the Enterprise and Leopard were harassing the last one that had attacked. The fifth one, Baltar's, had remained out of the battle, observing. The loss of four basestar however would cause some hesitation from the Cylons in another attack.

"Fleet report," Tigh asked.

"No ships reporting any damage," Omega replied. "Fighters are returning."

"Good," Tigh said. Something went right after all. Now they'd have to wait to see what would happen next.

Continued in Promotions


	66. Chapter 66: Promotions

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Promotions**

Troy walked onto the bridge of the Argo noticing the amount of destruction appeared less than he thought it would've. Ares stood off to the side going over reports of the damage. He glanced up as Troy approached.

"Looks better than I thought," Troy said observing a slight cut on Ares' forehead.

"We got lucky," Ares replied. "It's mostly light casualties, but we did have one fatality."

"Who," Troy asked. He glanced around looking noticing that Rebecca was seated at her station. From the looks of the conversation she appeared to be talking to Nall.

"We lost Colonel Aaron," Ares said.

Troy nodded remembering the man. He'd been a good leader and would have made a great battlestar commander.

"How many vipers did we lose?" Ares asked.

"We lost a few pilots, a few vipers were damaged, but the repair crews are working on them. The Galactica's fighters took the worst losses, with ten I believe," Troy replied. "The distance fighting worked quite effectively."

"Good, the Galactica's landing bays were damaged again so we're going to be housing some of their vipers for a while. I've split the groups between the Argo and Enterprise," Ares said to him.

Troy already knew that bit of information having been told by some of the landing crews in the hangar. They were already looking for space for the extra vipers from the Galactica.

"We got a bit lucky in that the Enterprise wasn't damaged and I think the hit on the Argo was luck as it was the only hit," Ares said.

Troy glanced around getting the same feeling as well. If the Cylons had been able to locate the Argo it would have been hit more, much like the Galactica had. They still had at least two effectively working battlestars, two gunstars, and three destroyers. That would provide a good defense for now.

"What's your next move?" Troy asked.

"I'm sending the Emerald on a short scouting mission towards the Colonies to see if there are any other Cylon basestars out there," Ares said.

"And the Fire Ant?"

"I've given Renee orders already to carry out," Ares replied. "That reminds me, Colonel Tigh mentioned something about building new vipers, I know that we probably won't be able to build any new viper Vs, but we can still build the type IIs. And we'll need pilots for them."

"Would Bri mind doing more training?" Troy asked.

"Yes."

"I'll talk to her along with Starbuck and Apollo. They might have an idea on how to get new recruits," Troy said.

"All right," Ares said. "I look forward to your report then."

"Yes sir," Troy replied. He'd have to head out and find Bri and see if she was in the mood for any training. Then he'd also have to talk to Apollo and Starbuck. He just hoped the two pilots were on the Argo at the moment.

BSGBSG

Scott sat down on the bridge of the Colonial Bound once more. He'd been in charge of this ship longer than any other ship he'd ever had. That included three fishing vessels that he'd owned over the course of his lifetime. He had sold two and the third had been sunk by a hurricane in the Atlantic Ocean months before he had found out about the space group.

Now he'd gone on important missions into deep space that he never dreamed he go. Footsteps caused him to turn his head as he looked to see his second in command, Mike walk over.

"Ay laddie, what's up," Scott asked. He watched as the man shook his head before saying anything.

"It's a wonder they got anything done," he said.

Scott didn't have to ask about who Mike meant. "Now remember laddie, their 'overment officials."

"I know, I know, but still," Mike replied. "I sure don't envy President Chang."

"They each have a different idea of how to protect our people," Adama's voice said. "It's why I picked them. If I only chose people who agreed with me then mistakes might be made. I'm trying to get them to remember that the humans of Earth won't give up their control just because this council represents twelve of thirteen tribes. We're guests, or newcomers to their home, not the other way around."

"Aye, that it be sir," Scott replied. "They be a might stubborn then. Perhaps ye should use a different approach."

"Different?" Adama asked.

"Aye, ye be trying to appeal to their mind, which is as stubborn as mother nature herself.  
Stop trying to tame it, and channel it to where you want it to go," Scott said to him. He watched as Adama sat there thinking about that for a few seconds.

"I think you might be right," Adama said.

"All right, now I'm lost," Mike said. "How does nature come into this conversation at all?"

"It just means I've been trying to force my way though lately. It comes from what we gone though lately but now they seem to think because of Earth and its military that things are different. It isn't, we're still a homeless people relying on others for help and they want to be in charge. They have enormous egos that have to be catered to, I think I know how to get though to them," Adama said. "Good advice, but I was actually looking to see if any news had come from the fleet?"

"Yep, computer's working on the translation now," Scott said.  
"Anything about the battle?" Adama asked.

"Just no ships were lost," Scott replied. He could see the mixture of relief and concern on the older man's face.

"Good to hear," Adama said.

Scott watched as the older man walked off the bridge. He didn't envy that man's job one bit. He had more than enough to handle with one ship and its crew.

BSGBSG

Bri looked over as Troy walked into the pilot's room. From the look on his face she knew he was looking for her. She watched as he made his way over to her and sat down next to her.

"Troy, how's the bridge?" Jax asked from her seat.

"A bit scorched but appears to be working fine," Troy replied.

"So what's up?" Bri asked.

"Well it appears that the fleet has started building additional vipers, mark IIs, but they would replace our losses," Troy said.

"True," Apollo replied from his seat. "We've been slowly turning one of the ships into a construction ship."

"Perhaps they can build the mark VIIIs, just wouldn't have that stealth material," Starbuck said.

"It's possible, but it might take too long to retool what you've done already," Troy replied. "The primary goal of the fleet is defense. The VIIIs were designed for attack."

Bri had to agree with that. They were fast and maneuverable fighters that could be armed for a distance or close in attack depending on the enemy as a thought struck her. "We'd need pilots?"

"Exactly," Troy said. She watched as he looked over at Starbuck, Apollo and Boomer. She waited a few moments to see what they would say.

"I think we can find pilots, but the Galactica is still under repair so we wouldn't be able to train anyone there," Apollo replied.

"The Argo has the room, and a training room as well," Troy replied. "We also have a good trainer right here."

Bri noticed that Troy indicated her. She sighed a bit having the feeling that she'd be the one doing the training.

"Well, I think we can get the recruits," Apollo said. "I'll have to talk to Tigh about this but I think we can continue building extra vipers."

"Then I'll have Commander Ares talk to Tigh about it and start transferring a few recruits over to begin training," Troy said.

Bri watched as Troy left heading back to the bridge. She turned to the others. "Well, I guess I'm doing more training again."

"Need some help," Jax asked.

"Always," Bri replied.

"Good, these guys can help you out, I'm sure they don't have much to do," Jax said smiling.

"Wait a second," Starbuck said. "I don't recall volunteering for anything here."

"You never do, others do it for you," Boomer replied with a slight laugh.

Bri laughed a bit at that. To her it seemed slightly odd at how quickly the Galactica pilots mixed in with the pilots from Earth and the Argo. Of course many of the Argo pilots had been part of the fleet to begin with. She turned her attention back to the conversation going on.

BSGBSG

Pratt glanced down at the screen indicating the latest reports from the Colonial fleet. The Cylons tried a trap but it failed. That seemed to be the good news, at least for Pratt. He looked over at the fleet's status. He wanted to send a war fleet to intercept the Cylons as far away as possible but still had support for the fleet.

"Commander, incoming message from the President."

"Put it though," Pratt said watching Chang's face appear on the screen. "Mr. President, what can I do for you today?"

"The council has been thinking about several things. We're concerned about getting into another war, but most realize that this war will be coming regardless of what we want. They've authorized more construction of battlestars," Chang said. "They also want it to be the next design. Many feel that design twenty-one will be the best for the newest design."

Pratt recalled that design. The battlestar would be shorter, but it's armor and firepower more powerful. "I'm for that, what would they call it?"

"The council wants a class of four, calling it the Musashi class, followed by the Litterio, the Missouri, and the Bismarck. The Musashi and Bismarck will be built with S-metal the other two will be more heavily armored," Chang said. "Of course names are subject to change."

Pratt realized that many names held a place in Earth history, or were past ships that had been in combat. General Pakrov walked onto the bridge with a look on his face that Pratt had come to mean something had happened. He waited for the general to stop in front of him before saying anything.

"I take it something's going on?" Pratt asked.

"It's that fracking Galaxy Council again," Pakrov said.

Pratt turned to fully face the general waiting to see what the 'council' had done now.

"Seems they want our designs for our battlestars," Pakrov said.

"I don't think so," Pratt heard Chang's voice say even before Pratt could say anything. Pratt realized that the council had contacted the general without any knowledge of the Earth's government, or at least the President.

"Did they say why?" Pratt asked.

"Yeah, first thing I asked them," Pakrov said rolling his eyes. "They said they didn't trust 'us' to have so many warships. They also want us to dismantle half of our war fleet."

"That's unacceptable," Pratt said. "The fools really have no idea what type of danger they're in if the Cylons beat us."

"I'll have another meeting with them," Chang said with a sigh. Pratt didn't envy the President at all with that mission. The 'council' had been a pain ever since the group had barged on the scene. They demanded attention at the worst time and felt they should make all the decisions about everything. Pratt sighed a bit before saying what he thought.

"Should I go along as well?"

He watched the President think about that for several seconds before answering.

"It might help," Chang said.

"Then I'll be there," Pratt said. The communications ended and Pratt turned to Pakrov. "Not a word, and tell them no!"

"That's what I thought," Pakrov said turning to leave the bridge. "Good luck, you're going to need it."

Pratt wanted to say something back but they both knew Pakrov was right.

BSGBSG

Ares waited until Troy showed upon the bridge.

"You wanted to see me commander?" Troy asked.

"Yeah, the council is planning a meeting and I'm acting in Commander Adama's place so I need someone to take over command of the Argo," Ares said. "I'd like you to do that until I return and I can properly appoint someone to that position."

He watched Troy's face appear a bit perplexed but no sign of rejection. That seemed good to him, at least better than what he would be facing.

"Commander Gunther is in charge of the fleet until I return," Ares said.

"I think I can do that," Troy replied.

Ares nodded then walked off the bridge headed towards the hangar where his shuttle would be waiting. And then a short trip over to the Galactica where the council meeting would occur. The Argo didn't have the large meeting room that the Galactica had. It had been a design change to allow more storage, and recreation room on board the ship for the voyage to Earth.

He walked into the council room. Sitting around the table were the leaders of the colonies. A ruling body he hadn't dealt with for over ten yehrens. He never imagined he'd be sitting here now part of them. Only eight others sat in the room. Four members including Adama had gone with the Colonial Bound.

"Welcome Commander Ares," one member said. "We really hadn't had time to know you."

'Uh-oh,' Ares thought. He had flashes back to his dealings with the Earth government. He'd been acting as an authority for the Colonies. Now he might have to justify that position.

"You were born in the Colonies?" one of the council members asked.

"Yes, I served on the battlestar Pacifica, under Commander Baccus," Ares replied. "Under Commander Cain I accepted a secret mission to find Earth."

"Yes, yes, we know that," the member said. "The real purpose of this is to re-establish control of the council with the people."

"Yes, the fleet has been under martial law for too long now," another council member said.

"I heard about the last time the council interfered with military operations, wasn't that when you had that prisoner fiasco?" Ares replied looking at the council member. "Also the Argo might have been built by the Colonies, but the rest of the ships are under Earth's command, not the Colonies."

"But most ships are commanded by Colonial warriors, are they not?" the member asked.

"Warriors who have fought, died and lived along side Earthers now for over ten years. Most Earthers will not allow such a take-over of the fleet. You must understand their history," Ares told them. "When the Arbus came and attacked the government officials did nothing. They remember this betrayal well. A take-over by the council wouldn't create a good relationship with the Earthers."

"We only want to make sure the military doesn't get too powerful. You can understand out concern? We have to make sure that the people's concerns are taken care of," the first one said again.

"Then there is no problem," Ares replied. "The Earthers understand the situation and are not here to takeover, but to help."

"So you say, but they have a larger fleet from what we hear."

"At least three fleets, eight battlestars plus a few dozen supporting ships, gunstars, destroyers and scout ships not including other supply ships," Ares said.

"See, that's what we must be concerned with," the council member said.

"The Earth has a large military and, well, there are concerns among the people," another member said.

"Strange, I haven't heard any of these concerns you mention of. I've talked with hundreds of citizens and they are all grateful," Ares said.

"Grateful now, but they are not looking at the future," the council member said.

"Perhaps they are, and you are not," Ares said.

"Do not mock us commander, we can still take away your commission," one council member said.

"I don't think the thousands of Earthers would accept that," Ares stated. "The Earth military remains separate, you might be able to control the Galactica, but the crew of the Argo is mostly Earthers, and the Enterprise is as well. Don't make a mistake by pushing this."

Ares allowed his stare to meet each council member. He noticed that not everyone agreed with the two council members that had spoken. The council appeared split on this issue as well. Ares thought that interesting and something he could exploit. He sat back waiting for what else would happen in the meeting.

BSGBSG

Pratt walked into the council meeting room beside President Chang. He looked around noticing several others already sitting there. The Galaxy Council appeared made up of different races. He wondered why if so many races were part of the council why it hadn't done anything about the Arbus.

"Ah, welcome Earth President," the Council President said. Pratt recognized the insectoid being from the last time they had met.

"You've been contacting our military again outside of proper channels," Chang said.

"We had to, you're government refuses to talk with us," A'Buc said.

"No, the council refuses to accept the truth," Chang said. "Also we've had no assurances that the Galaxy Council won't attack us as well!"

"That's absurd," A'Bus replied. "The council would never do anything."

"That much is obvious," Pratt replied loud enough for several others to hear.

"You mock the council!"

"I do," Pratt said. He walked into the center of the council looking right at President A'Buc. "This 'council' did nothing when the Arbus attacked Earth, or Skartia, or any other planet. Did you have a treaty with them? Or perhaps you were not considered a threat to the Arbus. Perhaps you're more like the Arbus than other races."

"That is an outrage," A'Buc said. "I'll have you all arrested!"

"How about we leave, I'll send the coordinates back to the Cylon Empire and you can 'talk' with them instead," Pratt replied. "And when a superior force with no mercy attacks you maybe you'll finally understand what we're up against."

"Then why won't you allow us to help?" another senator said. Pratt glanced over at the senator.

"Why, because this council hasn't given the Earth leadership any reason to trust you," Pratt replied to the senator. He watched several others think about that.

"You're saying that we should trust you, a group of humans who apparently don't want to trust anyone else with your technology. I see, you're no better than the Arbus then," A'Buc said.

"And what would you do with such technology?" Pratt asked. "Why should we trust you? The last time my people trusted a race they were destroyed."

"Destroyed, it seems to me that you're still here, so that doesn't factor in here," A'Buc said.

"My home, the Colonies, not Earth," Pratt replied.

"Ah yes, these colonies, the mysterious homeworld you say you come from," A'Buc said. "I find all that hard to believe, such an outlandish tale."

"If you don't accept it then we have nothing else to discuss," Pratt replied.

"And you are not the leader of your people," A'Buc said.

"He may not be, but I support him fully," Chang said. "If you refuse to accept this then there is nothing to discuss. Also, our ships will protect themselves if any hostile action is taken against them."

"Mutiny is it?" A'Buc said.

"Mutiny, that would require us to be part of you little group here," Chang said. "And last I understood, Earth was a free standing, independent state."

"What are you implying?" A'Buc stated.

"That we're not part of this Alliance, and if you want us to join you're going about it in the wrong way," Chang said. "Now, we've got another enemy to worry about, one far greater than the Arbus."

With that Pratt and Chang left a sputtering A'Buc and his council behind. Pratt felt quite good to be leaving that council. They had no idea what type of enemy they'd be fighting.

BSGBSG

Ares walked onto the bridge of the Argo where Troy stood watching over the ship. Yep, he had made the right decision, one that also was overdue for sure.

"Troy, can I speak with you for a sec," Ares said. He stopped for a moment at what he said, 'a sec'. He even used Earth terms now. He hadn't even thought about it when he said it.

"Yes commander?" Troy asked walking up to him.

"I wanted to let you know the latest news, and I thought you should be the first to hear this news," Ares said. He waited a few seconds. "You're being promoted."

"I am?"

"Yes, the council protested a bit, but they finally saw my side. Your being promoted to Colonel, and taking over as second in command of the Argo," Ares said.

"What," Troy replied.

"You've been passed over too many times. I've already sent the report to Pratt, it's about time you get promoted. You've been the flight leader for the Argo for too long. Bri can take over for sure, and I'm promoting Nall to Green leader," Ares said. He knew that the three of them had resisted any such promotions because they were such close friends, and the fact Bri and Troy were married. But promoting them all and having them remain on the Argo seemed like the best thing.

"Are you sure you want Bri as flight leader?" Troy finally asked.

I think she can stop herself from killing any new recruits," Ares said with a chuckle. "She hasn't killed anyone yet."

"No, but a few probably wanted to kill her," Troy replied. Bri had a way training that took anyone down a notch or two. Something many later on thanked her for.

Ares nodded knowing that Troy said the truth. "I'll let you tell the others about the promotions. After all that's part of your duty as well."

"All right," Troy said.

Ares watched Troy walk off the bridge. He glanced over at Rebecca who'd been listening in on the conversation.

"How's Mary?" Ares asked.

"Spoiled," she replied. "Between Bri, Troy, his parents and you I don't think she'll ever be at a loss for playmates."

Ares grinned a bit at that knowing it for the truth it was. He considered them all family, and he a father figure to all those who had been part of the mission to find Earth. The losses had been many, but the rewards and new friends and been equally great.

"What can I say, she brings out the best in me," Ares said finally.

"If you say so," Rebecca said turning back around to her work.

Ares went back to the command chair looking over the latest reports of the Cylon movements.

BSGBSG

Troy quickly looked around for Bri and Nall as he entered the pilot's lounge. They were near the back talking about the upcoming training missions they'd be flying. Troy made his way through the people finally ending up next to Bri.

"Hey, wondering when you'd show up," Bri said. "I was beginning to think you didn't want to help."

"Well, actually I'm going to be on the bridge a bit more," Troy said to her.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Ares informed me that I'm being promoted," Troy answered. "I'm being promoted to Colonel."

"Wow, hey, congratulations," Nall said. "Um, so are you doing two jobs now?"

"No, I'm going to be the second-in-command of the Argo, Ares is promoting you two as well, you're now the flight leader of the Argo, taking my position," Troy said to Bri. "And Nall is promoted to Green squadron leader."

"And we all stay on the Argo," Nall said. "Yes, my dream is still alive, oof!"

"That's still in your dreams," Bri said looking back at Troy. "More power to me." She said with a grin.

"Oh boy," Nall replied. "A power-hungry flight leader, great."

"I'm sure you both will do fine," Troy said. "You've already been doing the job anyways, so it won't be much different."

"Except now she had the final say," Nall replied.

"Keep it up and you'll be on patrol next," Bri said. "It does increase your duties in this training, you'll be doing what I was going to be, and I'll be doing what Troy was going to do."

"The new recruits don't arrive until tomorrow, so you've got some time to prepare, and I'll still help out a bit. Don't want to lose my abilities," Troy said. "I'll let you two work out the new schedules. I need to find out my new schedule on the bridge. I'll see you later though."

"Count on it," Bri replied.

Troy walked out of the room leaving Bri and Nall to work on the recruits.

Continued in Kamikaze


	67. Chapter 67: Kamikaze

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Kamikaze **

Baltar sat on the basestar command chair waiting for the next piece of information that they could gain from the Colonial fleet.

"Report Lucifer," Baltar said.

"By your command Baltar," Lucifer replied. "Our scouts have indicated a reduction of ships in the Colonial fleet. It's most curious as there is no known reason."

"The fleet is losing ships," Baltar said. He pondered over that piece of information. Something didn't add up in his mind. He needed more information, but how? "Are we still losing raiders?"

"Yes Baltar," Lucifer answered. "Our scanners have yet to identify anything, nor have there been any reports from the scouts before they are destroyed."

"Very well, send out an empty raider, have all scans by the raider transmitted straight back here. If it's destroyed there might be something that we can use," Baltar said.

"By your command," Lucifer said turning to walk out of the room.

Baltar hoped that this tactic might shed some clues on what happened to the scouts, and what happened to the last two attacks. Adama had something new he'd been holding back and Baltar wanted to know what that was.

BSGBSG

Ares sat at the command chair on board the Argo, a place he'd become very familiar with over the years. The only real differences had been who stood next to him. He recalled all those years, or yehrens, ago when Pratt stood there with him, the long voyage to Earth, the battles, and then the war where he had a host of different second-in-commands. Now Troy stood there, and he felt the ship had come full circle.

"Commander, patrol one indicates one Cylon raider patrol ship leaving Baltar's basestar," Troy said to him.

Ares thought about that. He sorely wanted to go on the offensive, like he'd been able to do in the Arbus war. Now however he had an entire fleet of civilian ships, unable to defend themselves.

"All right, see where it's going, on its way back destroy it, that might cause them to think about everything a bit more," Ares said. He didn't have to say unless it got too close to the fleet.

"Okay," Troy replied.

Ares glanced once more about the ship, the crew of the Argo, and how it'd changed so much, yet so little over the years. The dull green screens had given way to color screens. They now had personal computers in each quarters for duty rosters, yet every system had to be independent of the weapon, propulsion and navigation systems. The Earthers wanted to merge many of the systems, but Ares had fought fiercely against that. Many designers eventually knew what about the Cylons, and adapted quickly, even coming up with better designs.

"Commander, Colonel Tigh on the line for you," Troy said.

"Put it through," Ares said. He waited a few seconds until Troy transferred the signal to his station. "Colonel, what's up?"

"I just received word from the Bellive, one of the transports, its engines are failing," Tigh said.

"How many?" Ares asked.

"About three hundred, plus another fifty for crew," Tigh said.

"What do you need? I expect you'll be slowing down the fleet for this?" Ares asked.

"As much as I don't want to, we have to slow down, at least until we transfer the people and supplies off the ship," Tigh said. "Problem is most ships are already dangerously overcrowded."

Ares nodded in agreement. He'd been scrolling down to see what the report of the Bellive had been. The ship had been deemed serviceable all the way to Earth. The news was blow to the fleet. "All right, I'll have the shuttles from the Argo and Enterprise at your disposal. Do we need to bring a supply ship along side?"

"That might be the best way to transfer the supplies," Tigh said.

"I can see which supply ship is the most empty, it can take the most supplies and fuel," Ares said. He glanced over at Troy who already appeared to be working, calling people to get things going.

"Can the Argo handle a few more people for a while, at least until we get things settled down a bit more," Tigh asked.

"I think so, and a few other ships in the fleet can as well," Are said. He knew the Enterprise still had plenty of room. He'd deliberately avoided placing people on the ship for this reason. "I suggest we start right away."

"Good, the quicker we can do this the quicker we're moving again," Tigh said.

"I'll have my pilots coordinate with the Galactica," Ares said.

"All right, I'll let you know if anything else comes up," Tigh replied to him. The communications ended as Ares glanced over to Troy.

"I've got a few pilots lined up already, Bri, Jax, Nall and Boomer," Troy said.

"Boomer, isn't he from the Galactica?" Ares asked.

"Yeah, he's officially on call for shuttle transport between the Galactica and Argo, I think it has to do with Jax," Troy replied. "We also have one of the Galactica's shuttles on board."

"Good, what about the Enterprise?" Ares asked.

"Talked with Gunther, he'll need a few hours to make the necessary room on board for the people, but he'll have the shuttles ready to go now," Troy replied.

Ares nodded his head at that. Now they had to start the evacuation process.

BSGBSG

Bri glanced over at Nall who would be her co-pilot in the flights to the Bellive. So far they had made two trips, each time taking almost thirty people. Now instead of heading to the Argo they were to be heading to the Enterprise. Commander Gunther had finalized his plans on where to put the people.

"So, how's Troy adjusting to being a Colonel?" Nall asked.

"I really haven't seen him since the promotion. We would have both been off about now but then this came up," Bri replied.

"Have you heard from patrol one?" Nall asked.

"They were keeping an eye on a Cylon patrol," Bri said. "They'll probably destroy it a bit later on when it starts back or if it gets too close. Either way it's something I've got to work waiting when this is over."

"The joy of being a leader," Nall said.

"Well, you're going to have to get use to it as well," Bri stated. "I'll be needed those reports about Green squadron now."

"Don't remind me," Nall replied.

"Too late," Bri said, smiling at Nall. "I could send you messages about it as well?"

"No, don't need that," Nall replied.

Bri opened her mouth to reply when word came in from patrol one, they'd destroyed the Cylon raider. Bri almost felt relief at hearing it, now she could start working her mind on the reports.

"Well, another Cylon raider destroyed, you would have thought they'd stop sending out patrols," Nall said.

"Well, they are persistent, maybe we grew too soft fighting the Arbus," Bri said.

"Maybe, I doubt it though," Nall said. "Probably just persistent, like always."

Bri nodded looking towards the Enterprise. They were rapidly approaching the battlestar. Bri hadn't spent much time on the ship, built to a different design. So far the ship had proven to be stronger, and pack a bigger punch than the Argo, even though it had undergone several major refits.

Bri heard the controller give permission for her to land in alpha bay.

BSGBSG

Lucifer walked into the command room where Baltar waited in his chair for any new reports. He watched the human look down on him waiting, enjoying his command before saying anything to him.

"Report Lucifer," Baltar said.

"By your command Baltar, our scout ship was destroyed. The computers are currently investigating all scans before its destruction," Lucifer told him.

"Anything unusual in its destruction," Baltar asked.

"We know the direction with the attack came, add in the fact of several reports during the last attack, and it seems the Colonials have found a cloak of some sort upon which to hide their ships," Lucifer said.

"A cloak, that would explain a lot. Adama wouldn't need a lot of ships to defend the fleet with such an advantage," Baltar said out loud.

"The Colonial warriors would already know where our forces are then," Lucifer said.

"Yes, is there any way to improve the scanners," Baltar asked.

"I don't know Baltar, I'll have to check," Lucifer answered. He didn't know if the scanners could be improved any more than they were.

"Then do so, and get back to me right away,' Baltar ordered.

"By your command Baltar," Lucifer said. He made a slight bow then walked back out of the room.

BSGBSG

Adama looked around the small meeting room. He'd been feeling a bit restless, even though the voyage had only started a short time ago. He read the updates from the fleet, but now was too far away to do anything about it. The fleet had suffered another ship failure, but with the addition of the fleet from Earth there still appeared to be room.

"Commander, how are ya?" Scott asked walking into the room.

"Would it make any sense if I said useless," Adama said. Scott had a way of looking at life that at one moment seemed unique, and yet so familiar to him at the same time.

"Ay, it would," Scott replied. "Ah spent my life on the seas fishing, until my son got caught up in this," he waved his arms around the ship. "Now, ah carry on his legacy."

"What happened to him?" Adama asked.

"The Arbus, killed in the first battle, a pilot," Scott said. "What about you?"

"I lost my wife in the holocaust, and my son, well, he tried to warn the fleet of the Cylons, destroyed within sight of the fleet," Adama replied. "My son and daughter survived and serve on board the Galactica."

They stood in silence for several seconds before Adama finally asked. "Wife?"

"Divorced, said ah spent too much time on the sea," Scott replied. "Perhaps she was right."

"My wife said the same thing, but we were at war with the Cylons. She always said I'd never be there when it mattered," Adama said. "In a way, she was right."

"And if you'd been there, would it have made any difference for the better?" Scott asked.

Adama paused thinking about that for several seconds. If he'd been home, instead of on the Galactica, would it have mattered? He'd like to think so, but his heart understood the true answer. Of the commanders, he was the only one to raise an alarm and see what the incoming Cylons were and the threat they posed.

"Probably not," Adama finally answered. An answer he found hard to admit because of the cost.

"All we can do, is do what we can," Scott said finally.

"Are you sure you're not a prophet?" Adama asked.

"Nah, ah'm only what ah am, a sailor who's seen what he's seen," Scott said.

Adama thought about that for several seconds. The window showed several stars crawling by. In a strange way he realized that he shared a lot in common with Scott. The older Earthling had seen his share of things in life as he had. He wondered what would occur when they arrived at Earth, and the members could finally meet the council.

BSGBSG

Pratt looked out over the bridge of the Daedalius, his flagship of the second fleet, currently the main fleet. The fleets had been reorganized after the Argo and Enterprise had left and joined up with the Galactica. Then the Pegasus had survived, though heavily damaged, but now on its way back as well. Pratt also had to deal with the fact that the Galactic Council seemed to want to have Earth join their little alliance. Pratt didn't trust them for some reason yet. It might have to do with the fact that they demanded everything, not asked.

"Commander, new information from the Argo. Seems like the fleet's ships are still wearing out."

Pratt thought about that for a second. He realized they'd probably have to do something about that, and quickly.

"Get me Centauri One," Pratt finally said. It didn't take long before Peter, the commander of the base, appeared on the screen.

"Commander, you wanted to speak with me?" Peter asked.

"Yeah, what's the ETA of the liners?" Pratt asked. A new class of fast, stealthy passenger liners had been started with the intention of evacuating the colonial fleet quickly.

"The first one should be completed the week after next, and the crew is already trained," Peter replied.

"Good," Pratt said. "We received word that another ship in the fleet failed. At this rate the fleet will fall apart too quickly."

"Hmm, well, we're working as quickly as possible, another supply ship completed, the biggest hold up is the S-metal. Production is lagging behind a bit," Peter replied.

"I understand, but we can't rush that, a failure there would be a worst disaster," Pratt said. The last thing he needed would be a failure there leading the Cylons right to Earth.

"On the plus side, the Richelieu is almost done," Peter said, referring to the latest battlestar.

Pratt nodded in agreement. The latest battlestars had been modified to fight the Cylons. He knew that he'd have to start sending out a large battle-fleet soon before the Cylons could find out where Earth was. Several bases had been completed stretching the supply line further out for what he knew would be upcoming operations. The name had been changed as well, finally finalized only a week earlier.

"When the passenger ship is complete, have it start out with the supply ship Osis," Pratt said. "I think we can afford to send the destroyer Gearing as well for protection."

"Yes sir, we'll let you know," Peter said.

Pratt ended the conversation before checking on the latest intel on where the Colonial Bound currently was. The ship, at least to its last report now was only a few months away from the furthest outpost. He sent a signal to the base to keep an eye out for the scout ship. He wanted to send the ship straight back to pick up others but didn't know how long its passengers would want to stay.

Now he'd have to wait and see before sending some ships back.

BSGBSG

Lucifer walked back into the command room of the Cylon basestar where he knew Baltar would be waiting for his report. The news wouldn't be good, at least not now. He didn't have to wait long for Baltar to swivel around in the chair and face him.

"Report Lucifer," he said.

"It's as I feared Baltar, the scanners cannot be updated anymore than they are," Lucifer said.

"I see, then until the scanners are then we're at a disadvantage," Baltar said. "I don't like this at all. Adama has an edge now, over the entire Cylon Empire.

"We should report this to the Imperious Leader at once then," Lucifer said. "If the Colonials have such an advantage over our ships they could go straight into the heart of the empire."

"No, Adama cannot afford to do that, he'd need even more ships than he has. And with us right behind him he cannot afford to stop," Baltar said. "I have an idea."

Lucifer would've rolled his eyes if he'd been able to but instead merely waited to hear what the human had to say. He was sure it would be different indeed. He'd learned that humans were surprising creatures that thought outside the normal quite often.

BSGBSG

Ares glanced down at the reports from Tigh about the condition of the fleet. Things appeared to be somewhat normal, though he wanted to scrap most of the fleet now. Many of the ships were not fit for travel. He typed quickly another entry into his next report to Earth. He hoped that any replacements might start coming quickly.

"Commander, we have a problem, incoming wave of raiders," Troy said.

Ares glanced up at the report then down at the scanners. Sure enough a large group of raiders were approaching the fleet.

"Scramble fighters," Ares said, turning to get in touch with Tigh. He didn't have to wait long until the other man appeared on the screen.

"Commander Ares, what's wrong?" Tigh asked.

"Scanners have picked up a wave of Cylon raiders coming in, looks like an attack," Ares said. "I'd like to use the Galactica's vipers for close in defense of the fleet, and the Argo's vipers to destroy the raiders with missiles. I don't want to get in too close at the moment in case the Cylons don't know exactly what we are yet. Maybe keep an advantage for a bit longer."

"All right," Tigh said.

"Good," Ares said ending the communications. "Red alert, scramble all vipers."

The bridge lighting changed to the familiar red glow indicating the change in alert of the battlestar. Ares watched the progress of the vipers squadrons as they prepared for combat.

"Several of our pilots are over at the Enterprise," Troy said. "Request permission to take command of the viper squadrons, Bri is over there as well."

"Go ahead," Ares said. He'd be able to control the battle just fine and the viper squadrons needed some leadership. Looking down he noticed Nall, Bri and Jax all over at the Enterprise. It'd take time to bring them back, by then the battle could be over. He watched Troy quickly leave the bridge. Turning towards the scanners he watched the incoming raiders. It appeared to be about one Cylon basestar in compliment, and they were approaching very fast.

The vipers started launching rather quickly on the screen. The speed though which the Cylons were approaching would cause this to be close.

"Troy, you there?" Ares said.

"Just about to launch," Troy replied. "Why?"

"This attack doesn't make much sense up here. Their coming in very fast," Ares said.

"Maybe hoping to catch us off guard," Troy said.

Ares thought about that for several seconds. True, it might be a way to catch the fleet off guard, but he didn't think so. Something else had to be going on.

"Be careful, I don't like this tactic they're using this time," Ares said.

"We will," Troy said.

Ares glanced back down at the screen, watching vipers line up before moving out to intercept the incoming Cylons.

BSGBSG

Troy quickly caught up with Green squadron. He quickly took over command of the vipers before switching to missiles. The low growl reverberated in his ears before the tone changed indicating a good lock.

"Missile away," he said, watching other vipers launch their missiles as well. Over a hundred missiles streaked towards their Cylon targets. He glanced up into space watching the explosion start. Flashes indicated Cylon raiders exploding, but his scanners indicated the Cylons were closing in.

"Fire two," he said, gaining another lock.

The second missile streaked away heading towards another Cylon raider. He watched the target disappear again before having to switch over to lasers as the range closed in. The targeting computer switched to life. Its position was different than previous vipers, in that it was in the HUD, and he didn't have to look down anymore. Something he wondered why the Colonials hadn't done.

"Don't let any get by you," Troy said. He fired a few times before he also noticed something wrong. The Cylons were flying very fast, in fact they were not even trying to engage.

BSGBSG

Starbuck flew alongside Apollo waiting for the incoming Cylon stragglers that would probably get though the first wave of vipers from the Argo.

"I think I'd rather be out there," Starbuck said looking over at the flashes of light indicating where the battle was.

"We have a mission Starbuck, besides, they can destroy more with less to endanger them," Apollo replied.

"Yeah, I know, I just don't like waiting," Starbuck said. He opened his mouth to say more, but Colonel Tigh interrupted him.

"Blue squad, turn and intercept incoming Cylons as far out as possible," Tigh said.

"I'm afraid I don't understand?" Apollo said.

"Commander Ares and I think the incoming raiders, are suicide bombers," Tigh replied.

Starbuck paled slightly at that news. If that was true, then the entire group could cause mass havoc on the fleet killing thousands. He didn't wait for Apollo, turning the viper he made his way towards the Cylons. He noticed Apollo close behind him.

He quickly lined up his first raider of the battle quickly destroying it. A second followed rather quickly but he noticed the fleet was closing in very quickly.

"Apollo," Starbuck said.

"I know, I don't think we're going to get them all," Apollo replied.

Starbuck killed a third switching to another raider. The Argo's fighters were right with them attacking the Cylons. The Galactica's close in weapons started firing. Starbuck briefly wondered what ships would be hit. To his surprise the raiders avoided the Galactica, instead closing in on other ships in the fleet.

He managed to destroy another ship, but the Cylon raiders continued on their path, slowly zeroing in on certain ships.

"They're going for the manufacturing ships," Apollo finally said.

Starbuck watched the first raider impact on the ship. A small explosion occurred. He knew with his knowledge that the ship had taken damage. Another raider impacted on the side of the ship followed by a third in rapid succession.

"Well, this isn't good," Starbuck muttered.

He watched the ship suddenly explode from the damage, the explosion taking him back in time to the when the Atlantia exploded. An image that seemed like a lifetime ago to him, yet just yesterday.

"Cylon raiders have been destroyed," Rigel's voice finally said. "All fighters return to base."

Starbuck turned his viper knowing that about a thousand people had died, and the fleet had lost it manufacturing abilities. That would hamper any repairs that needed to be done. He turned his viper around heading back to the Galactica.

BSGBSG

Troy wondered if the Cylon leader understood what resources he'd used to cause such damage to the fleet. The raiders had succeeded in destroying one ship, and damaging two others. All three were involved in the manufacturing of parts for the fleet.

He headed towards the Argo with Rebecca giving him the information he needed to land. He'd have to have a meeting with the squadron leaders and see how they could avoid such an attack again.

Landing he waited for the crew to settle his viper before getting out.

"Good to see you haven't lost you're touch," a voice said. He glanced over to see Bri standing there.

"I didn't think you'd get over here in time, and the Enterprise probably didn't have any spare vipers ready to go," Troy said. "So, someone needed to be in charge of the viper squadrons."

"And you did a fine job with them," Bri said, closing the distance between them.

"I haven't been away that long," Troy said. "I may not have the natural abilities you have, but I can hold my own."

"I know, so, what happened?" she finally asked.

"That's the strange thing. I'm calling meeting of all viper squadron leaders to discuss it. The raiders completely ignored the vipers heading on suicide mission against the manufacturing vessels," Troy said. He started towards the elevator to head to the bridge and talk it over with Ares.

"Sounds like a good idea, something many of the Argo and Enterprise pilots haven't dealt with yet," Bri said.

"I already know what they're going to call them," Troy said. "And it might be a good designation for such an attack, Kamikaze."

They walked onto the bridge where Ares already appeared to be talking with Tigh on the battle damage.

"So, you're saying that any major repairs we can no longer undertake," Ares said.

"All three manufacturing vessels were hit, and the main ship was lost," Tigh replied.

"How would they know which ships to hit?" Ares asked. A good question in Troy's mind.

"It's probably Baltar, he would know. He spent some time as a prisoner with the fleet," Tigh replied.

"Now that we've been hit, how do we stop this from happening again," Ares asked.

"I think I can help with that, I'd like to convene a meeting of all squadron leaders," Troy said.

"All right, I'd also like the commanders of all warships to be there as well," Ares said.

"I think we can do that, get everyone working together on this," Tigh said. "Let me know when the meeting it, I'll be there, along with Starbuck and Apollo, and perhaps a few others as well."

"I'll let you know, and try to think what else Baltar might have learned," Ares said.

Troy wondered what would happen next.

Continued in Visions


	68. Chapter 68: Visions

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Visions**

Troy walked into the small quarters they shared with Rebecca and Nall. Mary currently was over at his parent's quarters, probably having a good time with her adopted grand-parents. His parents had taken in Nall and Rebecca like their own, and Mary like a grand-daughter. They understood when he explained about Bri, and her inability to have children. They didn't even flinch.

"Wondered when you get here," Bri stated. She was lying on the second bed in the room. They had brought a second on in, and while cramped, they rarely saw the Rebecca and Nall in the room.

"It was a long day," Troy said. "We're set for the meeting in five hours," Troy said.

"Let's get some rest then," Bri suggested. "I know you haven't been getting enough."

Troy wanted to argue, but found he couldn't. She was right.

"Come on, there's plenty of room, I'm not that big," Bri said, patting the empty part of the bed next to her.

"All right, but only if you sleep with me as well," Troy said. Bri had only gotten slightly more sleep than he had in the past couple of days.

Quickly changing they slipped into the small, yet comfortable bed, as Troy made sure the alarm had been set before quickly falling asleep.

BSGBSG

Troy blinked his eyes at the scene in front of him. He couldn't make out much in the confusion. He thought he was standing on the bridge of the Argo, but the ship had taken a lot of damage. Beams were lying on the ground, crew members were lying on the ground, injured or dead, he didn't know.

"All hands, abandon ship," he heard Commander Ares' voice say, quite calmly.

The scene suddenly changed to the bedroom. He sat up not sure what to think about that quick vision; at least he thought it might be a vision. It could have been a nightmare as well.

"Hey, you okay," Bri's sleepy voice said next to him.

"Yeah, just a dream, I think," Troy said.

"Let's talk about it in the morning," Bri said.

Troy went back over what he had seen. The more he thought about it, the more he realized it had to be a vision. Everything had been too vivid for a dream. Now he wondered what would happen that would require Commander Ares to give the order to abandon ship. He had the feeling that he was there, but he wasn't sure.

He decided to go back to sleep, and think about it when he had more sleep. Things might make more sense to him in the morning.

BSGBSG

Troy walked into the meeting room still thinking about the vision he'd had recently. Something about it disturbed him. If the Argo was destroyed, then what happens to the rest of the fleet? What about the people on board the ship, the civilians? Those questions bothered him even as he watched Colonel Tigh walk in along with Starbuck and Apollo.

Jax and Boomer walked in as well, along with Commander Gunther, and the squadron leaders of the Enterprise. Bri sat off to the side with Nall talking about something, probably something he really didn't want to know.

Another person walked in, Troy recognized him almost right away. A council member attending a military meeting, he hoped this didn't mean what he thought it meant.

"All right, now that everyone's here, let's begin," Ares said. Everyone waited for him to continue. "The Cylons used a different strategy, suicide tactics, or as the Earthers are saying, Kamikaze attacks. The results were the destruction of the main manufacturing ships of the fleet."

"We also lost a thousand good men and woman in that attack commander," the council man said.

"Yes we did, but with the loss of the manufacturing ship, we've lost some ability to fix problems of the fleet. Supplies from Earth will take months to arrive senator," Ares replied. "A thousand is a lot, but we might lose more if we cannot come up with additional plans for the ships, and how to avoid another such attack."

Troy watched the bickering between the two groups. He could see where both sides were coming from, yet at the same time, both sides needed to listen to each other. He could tell by Ares' face that the thousand people weighed heavily on him, probably as much as it would on Commander Adama. He also had the feeling that Adama would recognize the seriousness of the situation militarily and in terms of the infrastructure of the fleet.

The scene slowly changed in front of him. Voices dimmed slowly fading out till he no longer heard anyone. A new scene faded into view. He recognized a landing bay, somewhere, sometime in the future. A large group of people gathered around with everyone dressed in their dress uniforms.

He recognized Commander Adama, standing in front of the group, addressing everyone. He couldn't make out any word though but he could tell from the sorrow filling the room something had happened. Scanning the crowd he noticed a few familiar faces, Bri, Jax, even Nall and Rebecca.

As quickly as the scene faded in it faded out. The conversation between the council members and Commander Ares returned.

"I will agree with you for now Commander Ares. We'll begin construction on a new ship, but we'll need your help as many of our skilled workers were killed on board the ship," the council man said.

Troy blinked a bit. He'd missed almost the entire discussion on what they were going to do. The vision didn't last much longer than a few minutes. The discussion had to have taken longer than that, right? He glanced over at the rest of the group. Everyone appeared in agreement with the two men. He'd wait until later to talk to Ares about what happened.

"Commander Ares to the bridge," the communicator said.

"I can take this if you want," Troy said.

"No, we're done here, right?" Ares said, looking at the council men.

"Yes, I think we've got everything ironed out," the council man said.

Troy watched Commander Ares walk out of the meeting room. Troy decided the best bet would be to talk with his father. He might have some insight to the vision, or even if he should say anything. His father understood the destruction of the colonies would come, but hadn't said anything. Then he could talk to Ares, maybe?

"Gentlemen, I'll talk to you all later than," Troy said, getting up himself.

"Of course," one man said.

Leaving the meeting room he headed straight towards his old quarters. He was sure that his parents would be there.

BSGBSG

He knocked on the door instead of ringing the bell. Mary would probably be sleeping and didn't want to disturb her. He only had to wait a few seconds until the door opened.

"Troy, what are you doing here?" his mother said.

"Um, looking for dad, is he here?" Troy asked.

"Right here," his father said walking up to the door.

"I think I need to talk with you," Troy said.

"All right, let's head to the rec room, we can talk better in there than here," his father said.

Troy thought about that, sure there'd be people there, but finding a quiet place would be hard on board a battlestar that already had been filled to capacity.

They walked into the rec room with Troy glancing around to see who was in there. He actually felt a bit relieved when he didn't see any friends. Walking to an empty table away from the others Troy looked over at his dad.

"Well, it's obvious something's bothering you. Did you have a vision?" his father asked.

"You had visions of the destruction of the Colonies?" Troy asked. He noticed the question took his father back a bit, even a bit of remorse in his eyes showed through.

"Yes, I did," his father replied. "I thought about telling someone, but I had no idea the amount of destruction, only that our home-world would be destroyed, but I wasn't even sure by what. I had nothing about the other eleven, or the fleet."

"I see," Troy said.

"I take it you've had a vision, a powerful one," his father said.

"Yeah," Troy said. "The Argo, at least I think it's the Argo, it's going to be destroyed."

"What happened?"

"Well, I saw the bridge, it was a mess. Beams down all over, power outages, sparks, even a fire, I think. Then Commander Ares orders all hands to abandon ship. Since leaving the colonies the only ship Ares had commanded has been the Argo," Troy said.

"Hmm, I can see why the vision would be powerful, you've spent a lot of time on board this ship," his father said. "There's a relationship between where you spend your time, and your visions. What you see, is the Argo, unless you're being transferred soon?"

"No, just got promoted to Colonel of the Argo," Troy replied.

"Well, what, that's great news, and you didn't tell us?" his father said.

"It happened recently, and with everything going on, I guess it slipped my mind," Troy said.

"Well, I will say this, my vision of the Colonies happened almost six yahrens ago. Some visions take a long time to happen, others will occur in days. They are fluid, like water, hard to hold yet in mass can overwhelm everything," his father explained. "If you allow yourself to become bogged down in this vision, it will consume you. Instead go with the flow, look for the small signs, when that happens, a small decision can change everything."

Troy thought about that as his father got up and left. He could change the vision, maybe a bit, not a lot but a little bit.

BSGBSG

Bri watched the latest fighter pilots training. They had received the group from the refugee ships. According to Apollo they never had a shortage of people wanting to join, but space and fighters. With shipments of extra vipers from Earth they'd need pilots to man them.

So far working with these new recruits had been vastly different than recruits from Earth. The Colonials already understood what the stakes were. They had lived though it already, seen the destruction the Cylons caused first hand. The biggest problem, they wanted revenge.

"So, these new vipers, are they really that much better? I thought we got away from missiles a long time ago," one said. Bri noticed the man had to be from Gemini.

"We did, but the Earthers have improved the technology beyond what we ever did," Bri said. "Though remember many battlestars are equipped with Solimite missiles to combat basestars."

She watched the group absorb that bit of information before continuing on.

"The eights are more than just adding missiles to the hulls. They have improved computers, targeting systems, and more advanced thruster controls than the mark twos," Bri said.

"As you can imagine, this gives increased maneuverability over the Cylons. The eights also have the added advantage of stealth metal, or S-Metal. For now, this gives us an advantage over the Cylons previously never before enjoyed," Nall said.

"At the moment, they are the peak fighter of the fleet, however the fleet cannot manufacture the eights, so you will be equipped with twos. There will be slight modifications, missiles will be equipped with the mark IIb," Bri said.

She noticed a slight mummer at that piece of information. A new weapon to use against the Cylons. She understood that, she felt the same way the first time engaging the Cylons with the fleet from Earth. A tactical advantage the Colonials never had before.

With new recruits, and fighters they'd be able to protect the fleet and keep a better eye on the Cylons.

BSGBSG

Ares glanced around the bridge of the Argo. Somehow over the years the ship had become his home. Other ships were more powerful, spacious, and better armed, but this was his home.

Family and friends on board sometimes made the warship more than a warship, but a city, a community where families settled. He knew the dangers of having families on the ship. However, since the first birth on board when the ship was on the first mission to find Earth, there seemed to be the atmosphere of family on the ship.

In that sense, he'd gone against everything the Earthling's military stood for. Allowing children on board a warship caused a stir, but he had final say on the Argo, no one else. And when it came to his ship, he wasn't afraid to throw his weight around.

He noticed Troy standing on the bridge looking a bit odd, as if something was wrong. Walking over he waited a few seconds.

"Everything all right?" he asked.

"Huh, oh, thinking, that's all," Troy replied.

"Must be some heavy thoughts for a face like that," Ares replied.

"Nothing too much right now. I'm still trying to work it though myself," Troy said. "Some visions but nothing makes much sense other than I get the sense that it's sad, and happy at the same time."

"So, you've had more than one," Ares asked. He really knew Troy long enough that his visions, especially the more powerful ones should be heeded.

"Yeah, lately I've had them in multiple places, and, well, it's the Argo," Troy said.

"The Argo," Ares asked. Now Troy had piqued his curiosity. "What's happened?"

"It's going to be in a fight, and you'll call for the ship to be abandoned," Troy said.

Ares felt a bit sadden upon hearing that. The Argo meant a lot to him. To hear it might be destroyed, he wanted to do anything to prevent that.

"Any clues, we might be able to prevent it," Ares said.

"Nothing solid yet, I talked with my father, he says we can change the future, if we know enough. I've never known enough before to understand, but this one, I'm trying to figure out. When I do, I'll let you know," Troy said.

Before Ares could reply cries of 'Uncle Ares' rang across the room. Ares turned to see Mary running towards him. He quickly reached down as she arrived picking her up.

"What are you doing Marie?" Ares asked.

"I'm not Marie," Mary said, with a slight giggle. "I'm Mary."

"Oh, that's right," Ares said, grinning at the girl. "Are you being good?"

"Uh-huh," Mary replied, nodding her head turning and seeing Troy standing there. "Uncle Twoy."

Ares chuckled slightly. Mary still had a hard time pronouncing Troy's name. He knew the conversation he and Troy had would have to continue, but now rally wasn't the time. He looked over watching Rebecca walk onto the bridge. He noticed that Mary suddenly grew slightly still.

"Mary," Rebecca said, in the tone all mother's use to indicate someone would soon be in trouble. "What did I tell you?"

Ares felt Mary shrug, still not saying anything.

"Didn't I say to wait for me?"

"Uh-huh," Mary replied quietly.

Ares opened his mouth only to shut it again from the look Rebecca gave him.

"I asked you to wait for me before heading to the bridge. Uncle Ares could be in important discussions," Rebecca told her.

Ares watched Mary give her mother the puppy-dog eyes. He had a thought of how similar she looked to Nall. Thoughts of Nall on the long trip from the Colonies to Earth came to mind and how he used that look to persuade many of the women on board. It seemed all succumbed to his charm except Bri. That voyage now seemed so long ago.

"All right," Rebecca said, taking Mary from him. "She didn't interrupt anything?"

"No, nothing important at the moment," Troy said before Ares could. "Nothing that can't wait."

"Everything all right," Rebecca asked. Ares noticed she looked between he and Troy with a curious expression on her face.

"Everything's fine," Ares said. "Relax."

"All right, say good-night Mary, it's your bedtime," Rebecca said.

Ares waited while Mary said goodnight. He knew that a lot of people had different schedules, which seemed strange at first. To be on twenty-four hour alert though the staggered schedules had started. Amazingly people adapted rather quickly when they didn't have a normal 'day' like they did on a planet.

"Sleep tight," Ares told Mary who said good-night to Troy before Rebecca left the bridge.

Ares turned back to Troy, something bothered him, and that bothered Ares. He figured he defiantly would need to talk more about what Troy had seen.

"Maybe we should go to my office and talk about this," Ares finally suggested. He watched Troy think about that for a few seconds before finally replying that he would. Ares told the crew to report anything unusual to him, and that he would be in his office.

BSGBSG

Troy watched Ares sit down behind his desk. The same desk that had left the colonies, made of a similar wood as oak on Earth. He knew Ares would want to know as much as possible, yet he really didn't have much to tell.

"So, what do you see, anything that might be useful," Ares asked.

"Nothing much, the Argo's been damaged, the bridge is wrecked," Troy said, thinking about the scene. "I'm also assuming that we're fighting the Cylons, but where or when I have no idea."

"What about the fleet," Ares asked.

Troy had thought about that, if the Argo was destroyed what would happened to the fleet? "I don't know. Thinking about it though, I don't remember hearing anything about the fleet, or any other ships."

"It might have been destroyed in the battle," Ares said.

"Yeah, could be, you do order the ship evacuated though," Troy said.

"Doesn't make any sense," Ares said. Troy watched him think for a few seconds before saying anything else. "Normal procedure of evacuation is only if the escape pods can be picked up by human ships."

"To avoid being used as shields," Troy replied, shaking his head. He forgot that part of the procedure. "So there might be other ships, or warships nearby."

"And we might not be losing, but winning the battle," Ares said.

Troy had yet to think of the battle that way. He sat back to think about that for a few more seconds. If they were winning then why would the Argo be in such bad shape?

"It's possible, but the damage sounds like there's something else going on.

"Hmm, well, we really can't play this game softly if want to win," Ares said. "If we jump at each battle thinking this is the battle the Argo's destroyed in then we'll have lost the edge we currently have."

"There is another vision, I think it's a funeral," Troy said. "Commander Adama's there proceeding over it," Troy said. "I know I'm there, as is Bri, but aside from that, I don't' know."

"Hmm, anything else about it," Ares asked.

"Only that there's a sadness yet a joy at the same time, it's confusing," Troy replied.

"Interesting," Ares said.

Troy watched as Ares leaned back in his chair to think about it. He didn't quite know what to think about it either.

"I hope I get more info on this, I know I'd appreciate it," Troy said finally.

"Well, you're learned to control this a bit against Count Ilbis," Ares said.

"Yes, but that was against a person already trained in such abilities, I think," Troy said. That battle still haunted him slightly. During that moment his abilities had increased beyond anything he'd ever known. "I'm still not sure if I was in control."

"What do you mean?"Ares asked.

"I've read and heard from the Galactica that there is another faction, the Ships of Light. They appear to have similar abilities. It's possible they, briefly, enhanced my abilities to fight Ilbis on a level playing field," Troy said. "Since that moment I've never been able to summon that power again."

"Well, perhaps we shouldn't dwell on this," Ares said.

"I'm trying on to, but it does bug me a bit," Troy replied. "It's the power of this vision, and that something has happened, something very important."

"Well, have your visions ever been totally exact?" Ares asked.

"Well, no, they vary, the slight changes of time and decisions can occur," Troy said.

"Well, then maybe it's not exactly what you see then," Ares said.

"Maybe, we'll see," Troy said.

"Keep me informed if anything else happens, or you see something that might help us identify what's going on," Ares said. "I'd hate to lose the Argo."

"I know sir, its home to many of us," Troy replied. He had the feeling though that the destruction of the Argo was, well, enivatible.

"So, how do you like being a Colonel?" Ares asked finally.

"It's a bit different, guess I'll have to get used to it," Troy said. He'd been a fighter pilot though out his career that to no longer be in one seemed a bit different.

"I know what you mean," Ares said. "I can still remember my first time."

BSGBSG

Ares stepped onto the bridge of the battlestar Pacifica feeling a bit nervous. Sure he'd been a squadron commander, and flight commander, but this time, he stepped onto the bridge as a colonel. Already Commander Backus stood waiting for him.

"Ares, come on over here," Backus said.

Ares walked over to where the commander stood.

"Now, I want to relax, you're a natural leader, even Cain sees that. Allow yourself time and I think you'll rival Cain as well in military prowess," Backus said. "Imagine that, Cain and Ares, a one two punch. Maybe then we'll finally be able to make the council see the truth of the war."

"And what truth is that commander?" Ares asked, unsure of what type of reply he'd get.

"That the Cylons are beatable, but to beat them, we cannot simply conquer them," Backus said.

"You mean we have to completely destroy them," Ares said.

"Exactly," Backus said. "Cain told me that yahrens ago, and it's the one thing I still remember to this day."

"I'll try not to disappoint you sir," Ares said.

"I have a feeling you won't," Backus said. "Cain said the same thing when he became a colonel, and we know how he's doing."

Ares nodded. Cain already had the status of legend even at the young age.

"Well, I'll let you take us out then, and head for the fleet." Backus said.

"Yes sir," Ares said, turning to the bridge and giving out the orders to bring the engines up to power and set the course.

BSGBSG

Troy looked over at Ares after he'd finished talking. Commander Cain had thought highly of Ares. That had to be why he'd been chosen for the mission to Earth.

"Sounds like you know Commander Cain quite well?" Troy said.

"My first squadron leader," Ares replied. "I had often wondered why he took me in, but after talking with Commander Backus I understood. He saw himself in me. Of course now that I know better, I found out he'd take recruits from training that best matched him personality wise."

"Is that a good thing, too many egos could destroy a squad," Troy said.

"Death tempers that ego a bit," Ares said. "But yeah, we were cocky, and arrogant, and the best squadron in the fleet."

Troy recalled what he knew of Commander Cain's squadron. It had redefined many tactics.

"I think, no, I know Bri would have made into that squadron for sure," Ares said.

"She only came here because of Nall," Troy said recalling a conversation so long ago.

"Good thing too, I know of few who could have trained our viper pilots so well," Ares said.

"Her skills are unlike anything I've ever seen," Troy said, not wanting to say too much.

"Unlike anything, Hades, she's probably the best viper pilot in recent history," Ares said. "And remember, I flew with some of the best. She'd have done well in our squadron."

"Don't let her hear that though," Troy said. "It might go to her head."

"I think she already knows that, but she also knows one slip, a lucky shot can overcome skill," Ares said. "That was something many others didn't have and I think that's what will keep her alive for a long time to come."

"Well, I hope so," Troy said. "I have retirement plans that involve her."

They shared a laugh.

"I think you'll do fine Troy, and we'll keep a close watch on your visions," Ares said.

Troy nodded, hoping he misread the vision.

Continued in Colonies and Earth Meet


	69. Chapter 69: Colonies and Earth Meet

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Colonies and Earth Meet**

Baltar looked down at Lucifer. The Cylon had walked into the command room waiting for instructions to speak. He wondered if anything new had been discovered lately. The last encounter of vipers the pilot reported the vipers disappeared. One moment the vipers were in visual range, the next the vo[ers disappeared with nothing on scanners.

Adama had managed invisible vipers that would account for so much lately. How Adama had managed to outwit every attempt to trap the fleet, like he knew about it in advance. He silently laughed to himself before remembering that Lucifer stood in front of him.

"Report Lucifer," Baltar said, looking down again at the Cylon.

"By your command Baltar. Reports of the latest attempt by the Imperious Leader had failed again," Lucifer said.

"He's foolish," Baltar said. "Still is no closer to figuring it all out."

"No, it appears not Baltar," Lucifer said.

"Did you send my protest of the attack?" Baltar asked.

"Of course Baltar," Lucifer replied.

"And," Baltar said after Lucifer fell quiet for a few moments.

"It is the Imperious Leader's wise decision that only though attacks can we figure out what's going on. It's a tactic that has yet to fail us," Lucifer said.

"Then he's a fool for thinking that way," Baltar replied. "Oh well, it's only a matter of time before he learns to fight this new threat he needs me more than ever before."

Baltar leaned back thinking of the fame he'd receive when he finally defeated Adama. He heard something from Lucifer.

"What was that Lucifer," Baltar asked staring at the Cylon.

"I'm sure it is Baltar," the Cylon replied.

"What else is there to report?" Baltar asked.

"Nothing else, the next plan will have to wait until new basestars can get into position," Lucifer replied. "The Imperious Leader is bringing up six basestars, including a new series basestar recently completed. It was designed just for this new threat."

"I highly doubt that Lucifer," Baltar replied. "Seeing how he doesn't even know what he's up against how can you design something to fight it especially if Cain is involved? You may leave."

He watched the Cylon leave turning to his thoughts once more. Adama seemed to have all the advantages at the moment. The only real information he had was invisible vipers, but how many did he have, and what were they capable of. The information of another battlestar, something the Imperious Leader ignored, caused Baltar hesitation. He had tangled once already with Cain and lost. No, the next time he tangled with the legendary commander he'd have the upper hand. A slight smile came to his lips as he thought about that. He'd wait as long as was necessary to gain the advantage.

BSGBSG

Captain Scott waited patiently on the bridge of the Colonial Bound for Commander Adama to appear. So far during the voyage the group of people on board had been nice, except for one of the council members. Adama had told him the member was new, recently elected to the council. Many members were questioned by the survivors after the escape of the Easter Alliance destroyer, and the almost successful kidnapping of the council and escape of Baltar.

Scott learned Baltar had later been released for cooperation in destruction of a Cylon basestar. He felt they shouldn't have let such a dangerous man go, but he wasn't in charge.

"Captain, you wanted a word with me," Adama said.

"Aye, ah did," Scott replied. He'd been so caught up in his thoughts he failed to noticed Adama walk onto the bridge. "Wanted to let ya know we're coming up to Colonial Base Four."

"So soon?" Adama replied. Scott could hear the disbelief in the other man's voice.

"Aye, seems the Skartians work really well," Scott replied.

"I'm interested in meeting the group. Does the Earth government know we're about to arrive?" Adama asked.

"Aye, been in contact with them now for an hour," Scott said. "Standard procedure now for incoming ships. 'Specially now that there Cylons are a comin'."

"I see," Adama said.

"Ay suspected you wanted to let them other fellahs know that we're about there?" Scott said. He watched Adama for a few seconds before he finally replied.

"I guess I should," he finally said. "How long till we dock?"

"About four hours," Scott replied.

"I'll let them know," Adama said.

Scott watched the commander leave the bridge wondering how long he had before the Colonial Bound would be leaving to head back to the fleet again.

BSGBSG

Ares read the latest reports. The Cylons still were close by, sending in a few patrols, but they hadn't launched another attack since that suicide attack that had destroyed a significant amount of the building ships. Since then however the fleet had converted another ship to manufacturing.

"Commander," Troy said. Ares looked up waiting for the report. "Wanted to let you know, Bri's reporting in. Basestar three has moved now to the front of the fleet."

Ares looked over to the tactical board. It showed the fleet, and the current position of the Cylon basestars, each labeled with a number to identify it except one, which had a 'B' next to it. The basestar that Baltar commanded.

"Shifting positions again. Baltar's trying to figure us out still," Ares said. They'd been playing a chess game now for a while. He looked to see what Baltar might have planned now. He walked over to the map studying it intently. "Interesting, he might want to drive us here."

Ares pointed to a spot on the map that he knew held asteroids. He had a tactical advantage of already knowing what lies ahead. He studied the map a bit more. He needed a plan.

"Have the scouts found anything else?" Ares asked.

"Nothing yet commander," Troy said.

"Yeah," Ares said. He then realized that the Colonial Bound would probably be close to the first new bases, if Earth continued creating new bases. He didn't envy Pratt in his position with dealing with the politics of both the Council of the Twelve and the Earth Government. The Council still wanted full control over everything, and even had tried several times to take over the Earth fleet. Ares had threatened to leave that last time. He thought for sure Tigh would have a heart attack over that.

"Commander, incoming message, from patrol six," Troy said.

Ares nodded, knowing that patrol six was Starbuck and Apollo, in viper VIIIs. Several members of the Galactica's blue squadron had been fitted with the stealth vipers.

"Put it though," Ares said, watching as Apollo's face appeared.

"Commander, thought you might want to know, we've encountered some ships from Earth," Apollo said.

"The supply ships," Ares said. The news startled him a bit, but at the same time, the supplies would be most welcome. "Escort them in, go on ahead and land on them and we'll conserve a bit of fuel that way."

Ares tapped his chin in thought. The ships might come in quite handy.

"Troy, let me know when the supply ships arrive, I have a plan for the latest 'trap' the Cylons are setting up for us," Ares said, then walked out towards his office.

BSGBSG

Apollo raised the canopy of the viper looking around at a ship that for once, didn't appear crowded, or run down. A woman greeted him taking his helmet and informing him that the captain would like to see him. He waited for Starbuck to arrive before heading up to the bridge.

"Feels a bit weird," Apollo finally said, looking around the ship.

"Yeah, everything looks so, new," Starbuck said.

"Just don't let Cassiopeia know you were eye the woman in the landing bay," Apollo said, laughing a bit.

"Um, I'll have you know she respects me and knows me very well," Starbuck said.

Apollo glanced at him waiting several seconds before Starbuck continued.

"And don't you tell her either," he said, walking on to the elevator that would take them to the bridge.

A few seconds later the doors opened and they walked onto the bridge.

"Ah, captain, welcome aboard the destroyer Sydney, I'm Mike Tralov," the man said.

"Thanks," Apollo said.

"Is there a path you suggest to get though the Cylon basestars?" Mike asked.

"Yeah," Apollo said walking over to the scanner which showed the positions of the ships. It had taken him a while to get used to the Earth navigation system. It used a holographic technology to display a real-time 3-D image. "Right through here one at a time is the best and the weakest scans indicated."

"Right then," Mike said, relaying the information other ships.

"So, how many ships are with you?" Starbuck asked.

"Five," Mike replied. "Four supply ships and this destroyer."

"Any trouble?" Starbuck asked.

"No, we did pass the Pegasus though, gave some food supplies to her," Mike answered.

Apollo grew a bit silent at that. He knew that the Pegasus had survived, and that Cain had died.

"She really took a beating, but she'll be back in action, better than ever," Mike said. "The Skartians are the best builders in the universe."

"The Skartians?" Apollo asked.

"Yeah, oh, you're Colonials, should've guessed, sorry," Mike said. "The Skartians were allies of Earth in the fight against the Arbus. Nice people, don't sleep, allows them to work forever, they'll work all day, taking eating breaks and such. They also love to play. When they play, expect to play for hours."

"Sounds interesting," Apollo said.

"Well, everything's set, not much more to do than wait and hope they don't detect us," Mike said, as the first supply ship went though heading towards the fleet.

BSGBSG

Adama felt the shuttle land on the ground. The first time in a long time he would be on a planet's surface, and this time with friends, he hoped. He looked around with the other council members who also appeared to be waiting to see what would happen.

Scott opened the door and walked out. Adama followed along with the other two members. He spotted a warrior standing next to a man dressed in a different outfit, it looked a bit strange to not see robes.

"Commander Adama," the warrior said walking up to him. "I'm Commander Pratt, current Commander-In-Chief of the Earth military while Commander Ares is away."

"Commander Pratt, are you also from the Colonies?' Adama asked.

"Yes sir," Pratt said. "I was Argo's second in command on the way out here. Served on board the Pegasus before that."

Adama thought about that for several seconds. "Then you knew Commander Cain?"

"Yes sir, we also met once, on board the Pegasus for a war meeting, just before the assault on the Gandor's moons," Pratt said. "I met you in the hanger bay and escorted you to the meeting room.

Adama thought back to that battle, and the meeting to discuss the assault. He could remember the meeting, but not Pratt, not that it meant much, but the fact that Pratt knew things could only mean the man had served on board the Pegasus.

"Allow me to introduce to you the President of Earth, Chang Xai," Pratt said, indicating the man on his left.

"Pleasure Commander Adama," the man replied.

"And his advisor, Sam Harvey," Pratt said. Sam gave a slight nod towards Adama and the rest but didn't say anything yet.

"I am Commander Adama, a member of the Council of Twelve, as are these two men, Cronus, and Jason."

"Let us head to the meeting room where we can be comfortable," Pratt suggested. Adama followed the group down the hallway to the meeting room. He spotted a large screen, to go with a large white board on the wall that looked as if it was used for writing on. He looked a bit more at the screen noticing that the Earthers were indeed much more technically advanced in computers than the Colonies were. He didn't know if that would be a good thing or not.

Adama sat down waiting for the rest of the group before anyone spoke. Across from his sat the Earth president, Chang Xai, who appeared to look them over.

"You must believe under normal circumstances how hard it would be to believe that we come from the same hone-world," Xai said finally. "If it hadn't been for the war against the Arbus I doubt we'd even be here talking to you."

Adama remembered what he'd been told by Commander Ares and the others. The Earthers history of Kobal had been destroyed by the Arbus. Sam was the next person to speak up.

"I was one of the first the group from the Argo contacted. I worked at NASA at the time. It took considerable wrangling to create a group to help out the Colonies," Sam said. "I'm sorry to say we were not in time."

"Thank you," Adama said, speaking up at last. "I've heard many things from both Commander Ares, and from the crew on board the Colonial Bound. You have truly worthy people here on Earth."

"Yes, but now we have another problem, actually two problems," Xai said. "One is the Cylons. The closer you're fleet comes to Earth the greater chance the Cylons will notice us."

"Yes, that is a concern," Adama said.

"The second is your people," Xai said.

"If I may say, there is a third problem, the Galactic Alliance," Pratt said.

Adama raised his eyebrows at that wondering who this 'Galactic Alliance' was.

"Ah, yes, forget about them," Xai said. "A group of other worlds that like to butt in with advice."

Adama covered a chuckled at that remembering when the council tried several times to butt in only to find their decisions to be wrong and placed the fleet in greater danger.

"Well, that third one I don't know much about, but we can do something about the first two," Adama said.

"Agreed," Xai said. "We're currently converting one of the bases to handle the incoming Colonial citizens, a make-shift colony if you will, outside the base your government will have full authority."

"Sounds like you've thought about this for a while," Jason said the first council member to speak up.

""We've given thought to it ever since the news came to us," Sam said. "It was actually Commander Pratt's idea for that. There would be too many problems in combining the governments at this time."

Adama sat back wondering about that. The council didn't like to give up power quickly. He had the feeling the meeting would become very interesting indeed.

BSGBSG

Troy stood on the bridge watching as Commander Ares plan went into effect. It really did appear quite simple. They had empty another three passenger ships after unloading the supplies from Earth.

Talking with Captain Mike had given him news from Earth. A small fleet of supply ships had been constructed. A fleet of six would journey from the closest base, in this case CB4, to the fleet. Each fleet would start to consist of one or two tankers, three or four supply ships and a destroy for escort purposes.

Now using the now empty tankers and supply ships civilians had been transferred to the ships to take back. The ships in the Colonial fleet that were in bad shape were the first to be unloaded. Now two of those ships were now converging on the 'trap' the Cylons had laid out.

"Contact in a few seconds," Rebecca said.

The three ships were all under control from the Argo.

"One the basestars is now appearing on the ships scanners us the ships to ram the basestars," Ares said.

Troy shook his head at that tactic. Using the ships of the fleet would cause a pause for some of the leaders in the Cylon Empire.

"Green squadron standing by, as is the Leopard," Troy said. He looked over to see Ares.

"Tell them they are not to engaged unless they have to. I want to see what the Cylons will do," Ares replied.

Troy thought the same thing. He never knew of using civilian ships for such a tactic.

"In range commander," Rebecca said. "Engines on full, course set."

Troy now knew the only thing left was to wait and see.

BSGBSG

Baltar watched Lucifer walk into the command room. "Lucifer report."

"By your command Baltar," Lucifer answered. "The Colonial warriors are using a baffling tactic."

Baltar's eyebrows rose but didn't say anything. Nothing would surprise him.

"Three ships from the Colonial fleet have entered the asteroid field, and appear headed towards the basestars as if to do combat with them," Lucifer said.

"Hmm, maybe Adama is hoping to spring the trap or set one himself. He probably has a squadron of vipers waiting for when the basestars go after the ships," Baltar said.

"The Galactica herself has made no attempt to leave the fleet, surely Commander Adama knows of the trap already?" Lucifer said.

"Perhaps, or he's luring the Imperious Leader into a trap of his own, wanting us to waste our resources in such battles," Baltar said, thinking it over in his mind. Then he also had that report of vanishing vipers. He felt certain Adama would be using his secret weapon again. "Keep a close eye on the battle, I think Adama will be using his new vipers again. Keep me updated."

"By your command Baltar," Lucifer replied.

Baltar watched Lucifer walk back out of the command room.

BSGBSG

Troy watched the scanners with the rest of the bridge crew. The Cylon basestars seemed to hesitate for several seconds wondering what the Colonial ships were actually up to.

"Cylon ships have opened fire," Rebecca finally said.

Troy looked over to the damage indicators which showed damage starting on the ships. The engines still worked making the ship large missiles.

"First impact in five, four, three, two, one, impact," Rebecca's voice said.

Troy noticed one blip on the scanner that winked out.

"Calgary is reporting one basestar with heavy damage," Rebecca said. "Second impact, now."

Troy watched waiting as the finally the third ship impacted on the intended target. Three basestars now damaged without any risk to the fleet. He had to admit Ares' plan seemed strange at first, but now he felt the tactic would cause the Cylons to pause and fall back.

"Get me Colonel Tigh," Ares said. A few seconds later the Galactica's current commander appeared on the screen.

"I take it the plan worked," Tigh said.

"As the Earthers say, hook, line and sinker," Ares said. Troy could hear the smile on Ares' face.

"Do you really think this will cause the Cylons to stop trying to ambush us every couple of microns?" Tigh asked.

"Not really, but it did damage three basestars," Ares said.

"Didn't destroy them, frack," Tigh said.

The plan had been for the ships to destroy the basestars, but that part of the plan failed. Still everyone had to consider it a partial success at the moment. How successful Troy didn't know at the moment.

"I don't think we have to worry about this ambush though," Ares said. "It did save some supplied and ammo for sure this time."

"We won't be able to repeat it though," Tigh said.

"I know, we'll think of something else though," Ares said.

Tigh nodded his head before signing off. The rest of the bridge crew went back to work. They had several patrols out around the fleet keeping an eye on the Cylons.

"The Cylons basestars are retreating," Rebecca said.

Troy felt a bit of relief at that news. The plan worked to the point it stopped any attack from the Cylons. The question now would be how long before they tried again. Looking back at the map he noticed Ares looking at it as well. He'd done that many times over the course of the past week or so.

"Commander, something wrong?" Troy asked.

"No, just thinking, I think I want to go on the offensive for a change. But I'm going to need Commander Pratt's help," Ares said. "Yes, I think I know where and how."

Troy watched him leave the bridge still not sure what the commander had planned now.

BSGBSG

Baltar swiveled in his command chair upon hearing Lucifer enter the room again. The Cylon hadn't been gone that long but it appeared something had happened. He frowned wishing that Cylons could show emotion so he could gage if the news would be good or bad.

"Report Lucifer," Baltar said, his voice echoing in the command room.

"By your command Baltar," Lucifer replied. "The battle is already over."

That got Baltar's attention rather quickly. He waited for Lucifer to continue and explain what happened.

"The Imperious Leader has ordered the basestar to retreat and to return home for repairs," Lucifer said. "It appears that the Colonials used the three ships as decoys, before using an unusual tactic. The ships were used to ram three basestars."

Baltar sat up straighter at that news. Adama had used three precious ships of his fleet to ram three Cylon basestars. Something failed to add up with that tactic. He knew from his time on board the fleet how thinly spread the resources of the fleet were. Each ship had been packed with no room for more people.

"Are you sure about this Lucifer?" Baltar asked.

"Yes Baltar, the three Colonial ships rammed three basestars, only though the excellent designs of the basestars and the armor did they manage to survive," Lucifer answered. "However the three ships will require extensive repairs before returning to the fleet."

"Impressive tactic Adama but something doesn't add up," Baltar said.

"This is the second time the Colonials have reduced the ships in the fleet, perhaps they are short on fuel again," Lucifer said. "Reducing the number of ships reduced the fuel used in the fleet."

Baltar nodded at the Cylon's thinking, and could be logical except for one problem. "It might be Lucifer, but humans require more room than Cylons do. You can't stack humans up in small areas for a long period of time and expect us to survive. No something else is going on, something that smells like Cain's work."

"You still believe that the legendary Commander Cain is with the fleet?" Lucifer asked.

"Of course, who else could lead the Colonial fleet though the multiple traps the Imperious Leader has laid for them," Baltar replied. "Only someone like Cain would think of using ships to ram Cylon basestars."

"Should I inform the Imperious Leader of this?" Lucifer asked.

Baltar sat back thinking for several seconds before finally answering. "Go ahead; it will be interesting to see what our illustrious leader will do then."

"By your command Baltar," Lucifer said, bowing slightly then turned and left the command room.

Baltar looked up to the ceiling thinking. If Cain really had rejoined the fleet then he'd have to be careful. Last time Cain decided to attack three basestars just to get to him. AS long as he didn't allow Cain to know where he was, he had the advantage.

BSGBSG

Pratt looked across the table knowing that things actually had gone quite well. Governments could be quite stubborn, to the point of refusing the best deals because it might appear they were weak. However with everything that had happened to both civilizations both sides appeared to have changed slightly.

"I think we can live with this arrangement for the moment, it will give our people something to do, a way to fight back," Jason, one of the Council of Twelve, said to the group.

Pratt looked at Adama who appeared slightly shocked that the council members had agreed to such an agreement so easily. The ships returning with Colonials would settle on the planet where base Centari One sat, the first base that had been built.

Pratt almost said something when an aide walked into the room straight for him. "Sorry commander, but a report just came in from Commander Ares."

Pratt activated the data pad the aide handed him. Quickly reading though the information he glanced back up over at Commander Adama then back down at the pad.

"Is there something wrong commander," Adama asked. Pratt could hear the concern in the man's voice.

"No, the supply ships found the fleet and will be returning shortly with new civilians," Pratt said, handing the pad to Commander Adama who read it.

"Is he sure about this?" Adama asked.

"No, but it just might make things easier in the long run," Pratt said.

"What," Xai asked, looking between Adama and Pratt.

"We're about to set up a trap of our own," Pratt said. "Ares wants to send a complete fleet to prepare an ambush for the Cylons."

"Some of those ships won't have the s-metal," Sam said.

"I think that's the point senator," Pratt said. "The further we engage the Cylons away from Earth, the more we can dictate the battles. We know more about the systems, asteroids, and other things that are in space from here to the Cylon. The Cylons are on a defensive, now's the time to strike."

Continued in the Third Fleet


	70. Chapter 70: Third Fleet

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Third Fleet**

Baltar watched Lucifer walk back into the command room. The IL series Cylon never showed much of anything but over the years Baltar had managed to read the Cylon. The most telling feature, how slowly the Cylon entered. Lucifer always approached slowly when he had bad news. Baltar wondered slightly if the Cylon even knew he did that.

"Report Lucifer," Baltar said, looking down at the Cylon.

"By your command Baltar," Lucifer replied. "The latest report of the Galactica and her fleet are not good."

"Explain," Baltar said.

"The fleet had sped up, now they are slowing down," Lucifer reported to Baltar.

"And what does the Imperious Leader in all his wisdom think?" Baltar asked.

"He thinks the fleet is running low on fuel," Lucifer said.

"A logical explanation," Baltar said. "But if there's something I've learned lately, is not to believe anything without looking into it further."

"A wise decision Baltar," Lucifer said.

"Of course it is," Baltar replied quickly. "Unlike the Imperious Leader who continues to folly away with pointless attacks and so called traps I've watched the fleet closely."

"And what have you discovered Baltar," Lucifer replied.

"I believe that an illness has spread though the fleet," Baltar said. "It's the only logical solution and only reason that can be allowed for the reason that Adama has allowed several ships to be abandoned. The next time any ships are abandoned I want a recon of the ships."

"By your command," Lucifer said, giving a slight bow before leaving the command room.

BSGBSG

Ares walked onto the bridge to look over the latest intel from the patrols. The voyage had been long so far, but he had a plan now.

"Any word?" Ares asked, looking down at Rebecca.

"We just received word a few minutes ago," Rebecca replied. "Finished sending it to you."

Ares glanced down at his handheld noticing that indeed the communications had been received. He nodded his head. He quickly brought up the communications to the Galactica waiting a few seconds until Commander Adama appeared. The older man had returned from Earth after meeting with the council. An agreement had been reached. The Colonials would use the planet of CB-3 as a temporary home and would retain full political control over the Colonies and Earth would keep control of their bases, including CB-3.

So far several trips had already transferred over a thousand Colonials to the planet, along with several members of the council. Two members rotated back and forth until the fleet finally arrived at the planet.

The one thing Ares had felt during the trip had been the one thing he hoped this plan would succeed in soothing. Many of the survivors wanted revenge on the Cylons. Ares also knew that the closer the fleet got to Earth the greater the chance of the Cylons finding out about them. So he sent his plan to Commander Pratt who sent word back they would.

"Commander Adama is on the line," Rebecca said.

Ares turned to his monitor seeing both Adama and Tigh.

"You wanted to see me Commander?" Adama asked.

"Yes sir," Ares said. "I wanted to let you know that the plan is set, and it seems the ships are in position."

"Good, I'll begin the fleet's part in this then," Adama said.

"Hopefully if this works out, we'll give the Cylons something else to think about for a while," Ares said.

"I think it will," Adama said. "The real question is what will Baltar do."

Ares had to nod his head at that comment. They had kept an eye on the basestar they considered to be Baltar's. The ship had made no aggressive moves, and seemed to hang back whenever the Cylons attacked. Adama had mentioned that he thought Baltar still did not fully know about the Argo and the Enterprise. Such a tactical advantage so far had worked to Ares' advantage, but now the time had come to pull off a major surprise.

"I guess we'll find out shortly then," Ares said.

Adama nodded before ending the communications.

"Tell the fleet to change course," Ares said, knowing that this part of the plan carried the most risk and leaving the fleet with only one battlestar to protect it.

"Fleet is stopping," Rebecca said.

Ares nodded watching the scanners. The Enterprise and Argo along with the rest of the Earth fleet now slowly headed away from the fleet. Ares hoped the Cylons would not do anything for at least a day. That would give him the time he needed to spring the trap on the Cylons. The Galactica would send out patrols to the nearby systems giving the illusion of empty fuel tanks in the fleet. What the Cylons would not know is the fleet had just been topped off with fuel allowing all ships to flee at their maximum speed when the plan called for that to happen.

He hoped everything went as planned, but also understood that plans fail at the most critical times. He pushed the though from his mind not wanting to jinx the plans. The next part of the plan, actually had more to do with the Cylons than anything else. The fleet had to wait for the enemy to show up once more.

BSGBSG

Adama looked down at the scanners, knowing that the Galactica's scanners could not lock onto the Argo or any of the other ships in the fleet. Still he looked down knowing how much Commander Ares risked on the plan. In a way the commander reminded Adama of Commander Cain. Adama had learned that Ares and Cain had been in the same fighter group.

"Commander," Tigh's voice said breaking Adama's thought.

"Yes Tigh, what is it," Adama said, looking up at his second in command.

"A patrol already indicates an incoming Cylon patrol," Tigh said. "Shall we destroy it?"

"Have the nearest patrol intercept it," Adama said. He had to maintain the illusion the fleet now appeared low on fuel. If the fleet really had been low he'd have any patrol destroyed before any raiders could scan the ships.

"Boomer and Jax are on patrol, I'll inform them," Tigh said.

Adama nodded before turning his attention back to the scanners. All three battlestars exchanged pilots so often that sometimes it was hard to remember which pilot came from which ship.

Now that the Argo and Enterprise had left it only left the fleet with the Galactica, and a destroyer, the Calgary. The fleet though did have an additional two squadrons of fighters. One group flew the newer Mark VIIIs, the other squad the Mark IIs, same as the Galactica.

"Father," Apollo said. Adama turned to see Apollo along with Starbuck, Sheba and Cassiopeia all standing there. "I, well, we've been thinking about this plan that Commander Ares came up with and I think we have a better idea."

Adama's eyebrow rose but he remained silent. His son usually came up with very good ideas, and if Starbuck stood with Apollo not saying anything then the plan must be good. "All right, I'm listening."

"Well, I've gone over the maps of space from here to Earth, and Ares wants to use the asteroids here," Apollo said, pointing to a spot on the map not far from the fleet. "There is a deposit of tylium over here though, and a spot to cover one of the battlestars."

Adama looked at the map and the areas that Apollo had pointed out. They were to keep up the illusion that the fleet had run out of fuel.

"The Cylons already know about that deposit of fuel, we know they scanned the surrounding area a sectar ago," Apollo said.

"Yes, the patrols watched them," Adama said.

"We can send a patrol there, and then send out tankers there, along with a squadron of vipers, split our forces, end the guessing of when the Cylons attack," Apollo said.

Adama looked down at the scanner for a second longer before activating the communications to the Argo. He felt sure that Ares would agree that Apollo had a good idea there. The Cylons almost couldn't pass up such an invitation to attack.

BSGBSG

Ares listened while Adama mentioned Apollo's plan.

"Brilliant, I can't see how I overlooked that," Ares said. "Rebecca, contact the Enterprise and tell them to wait near the fuel deposits. I need to revise the placement of the ships slightly. How long until you send a patrol there?"

"The next patrols is actually scheduled to head there," Adama said.

Ares nodded his head. That meant if Adama proceeded with the plan he'd have at most a day to place the fleet.

"Okay, don't alter that, we can get into position quickly," Ares replied. "I'll let you know when we're ready, shouldn't be too long to reposition."

"We'll be waiting," Adama said.

Ares looked back at the map again shaking his head.

"Something wrong?" Troy asked.

"Can't believe I missed that fuel deposit there," Ares said.

"Well, there isn't much there," Troy said.

"Yeah, but if we're giving the illusion the fleet is low on fuel, Adama would take any fuel he could find," Ares said.

He watched Troy nod his head in agreement. Ares had to admit that the new tweak in the plan make it better. He'd been so focused on battle that he had forgotten about how to run a refugee fleet that should appear desperate in their flight from the Cylons. He had an advantage and wanted to use it.

"Order Enterprise over there," Ares said. He wanted to make sure the Cylons were trapped this time.

He looked at the scanners, and markers from other warships indicating the placement of the basestars. Six basestars, not including Baltar's, now surrounded the fleet. It appeared the Cylons had learned, slightly, from past mistakes. The last two attacks had been with only three basestars. Ares figured, after talking with Adama and Tigh, the first attack when the group from Earth interfered had been under the command of Baltar. Ares wondered if the Cylons were punishing Baltar, or if he simply watched, learning from the tactics.

"Basestars three and four have stopped," Rebecca said.

Ares glanced at the scanner noting that the two basestars now held a position outside the Galactica's scanning range. One basestar, which he named four, was below the fleet, and number three above the fleet, six held a position behind the fleet while the other three, one, two and five, waited in front of the fleet. The Enterprise currently held a position close to three, the Argo close to four. He'd catch the Cylons off guard for sure.

BSGBSG

"Report Lucifer," Baltar said.

"By your command Baltar," Lucifer replied, bowing slightly. "The Imperious Leader himself is leading the attack."

"He is, is he," Baltar said, his mind thinking. Last time he spoke to the Imperious Leader the Cylon had warned Baltar not to plan any other attacks. "And what does the Imperious Leader wish of us?"

"We are to hold our sector until the fleet breaks up. Our raiders are to destroy any fleeing Colonial ships," Lucifer said.

"He expects a victory then," Baltar stated, smiling slightly. "Then he'll be disappointed when it doesn't happen."

"No, the Imperious Leader has calculated the odds heavily in our favor this time," Lucifer said. "Shall I tell him we won't participate?"

"No, tell him if the attack succeeds we'll help, but he still has no idea what he's up against," Baltar said. "There have been reports of ghost ships that he's ignoring."

"There is no evidence that such ships exist, even if the Colonials managed to perfect a cloaking device for their vipers we still have numbers on our side," Lucifer said.

"And we've had numbers now since chasing the Galactica from the Colonies and it hasn't helped," Baltar said. "No, there is more here, and I wish to find out. Relay my reply."

"By your command," Lucifer said, bowing before leaving to the communications room.

Baltar walked over to the monitors glancing at the layout of the basestars, and the fleet. "Now Adama, we'll see how you handle this threat."

BSGBSG

Troy stood next to the command chair waiting for the orders. The Cylons had started to move. Raiders had been launched from the basestars and waiting outside the scanning range of the Galactica. Heading out from the Galactica one squad of vipers along with a tanker headed to the one planet where some fuel had been located.

"Adama," he heard Ares say.

"Commander Ares, what news?" Adama asked.

"Looks like the Cylons have fallen for it," Ares said. "They began launching raiders the moment the squadron left with the tanker."

Troy saw Adama nod then looked off screen. The Galactica went to red alert.

"We're ready," Adama said.

"Good, get me the Enterprise," Ares said.

Troy watched Gunther appear on the screen. The Enterprise appeared full of activity from the look of things behind Gunther.

"You've seen?" Ares asked.

"We're waiting for the go ahead," Gunther replied.

"Put the fleet on red alert," Ares stated.

Troy flicked the switch watching the familiar red light bath the bridge. Looking over at the indicators he watched the posts report in when ready. In less than a minute the entire battlestar was battle ready. He knew it wouldn't have taken long. Many of the crewmembers were close to their battlestations knowing the attack would happen any moment.

"Raiders moving in on fleet," Rebecca said.

"Launch vipers, target intercept," Ares said.

"Green squadron, intercept raiders in sector six, red squadron in sector five," Troy relayed to the squadron leaders, Bri and Jax.

Troy also relayed the message to the Enterprise. Their vipers would intercept the raiders coming from behind the fleet and top and below. Troy had to admit things felt strange no longer in the cockpit of a viper in battle. Watching things play out on monitors made him feel slightly helpless.

"Galactica has launched," Rebecca said, indicating the moment the Galactica's scanners had reported the raiders.

Troy watched the tanker turn around while the vipers turned to engaged the nearest raider group, from basestar three.

"Basestars one, two and five moving in," Rebecca said.

Troy looked back down at the moving groups. The vipers and raiders would engaged in seconds. The Galactica had started moving away from the fleet towards the three basestars.

"All right, get me Commander Pratt." Ares said.

BSGBSG

The Imperious Leader sat on his throne on his personal command basestar. The reports coming in were not that unexpected, heavy losses, but the raiders were starting to push through. Once more reports came in about a viper that failed to appear on the scanners.

The invisible vipers would not prevent a Cylon victory this time. He had the largest collection of basestars since the defeat of the Colonies. Once the basestars destroyed the Galactica then they could attack the transports. With those gone the invisible vipers would be useless and drifting in space after the Cylons left. Then he go back and destroy the remaining pockets of humanity they had come across.

"Report centurion," he ordered.

"By your command," the Centurion replied. "The Galactica is headed towards the basestars located in front of the fleet."

"Good, send in the other two basestars to attack the Colonial fleet, leave none left alive," the Imperious Leader replied.

The Centurion turned to carry out the order. The Imperious Leader turned to watch the battle. He didn't want to miss a single moment of the destruction of the Colonial fleet.

"Imperious Leader, new report coming in from the basestar commanders," a centurion said. "They are under attack by a Colonial warfleet."

"Explain," the Imperious Leader stated.

"A basestar commanders state incoming vipers from a warfleet consisting of two battlestars, and numerous other warships from behind. What are your orders?" the Centurion asked.

"The other two basestar commanders report they are under attack as well," another Centurion stated.

"Identification of the incoming battlestars," he asked.

"Negative, they are not in our warbooks," the Centurion replied. "Also the design is slightly modified.

He thought about what to reply when the basestar rocked slightly from large weapons fire. He looked down at the scanner not seeing anything down there.

"Aft turbo-laser batteries state an attacking gunstar," the Centurion said.

"Our raiders?" the Imperious Leader asked.

"They are engaged in combat with the Colonial vipers," the Centurion replied.

The basestar rocked again from another hit.

"Retreat for now," the Imperious Leader stated.

BSGBSG

"Baltar, you wished to know how the battle goes," Lucifer said, causing Baltar to turn towards the Cylon.

"Yes, has the attack failed?" Baltar asked, a bit surprised at the speed at which it could fail.

"It appears that the Colonials have some new battlestars," Lucifer said.

"The Pegasus isn't new," Baltar said, walking over to the monitors. He glanced down taking in the attack. The Imperious Leader's basestar already appeared to be retreating. The others also retreating further back. He frowned expanding the radius of the scan noticing a large formation of fighters and ships approaching. The scanners identified the ships as Colonial warships. "A colonial warfleet? Out here?"

"It appears so Baltar," Lucifer replied.

"Pull back as well," Baltar said. He looked back down not knowing what had happened. All battlestars had been accounted for over the years, even the Pegasus despite the knowledge that they thought it was destroyed. He turned to the Cylon archive bringing up the list of battlestars and where they were destroyed quickly looking for any unknowns. Only one came out, the Pegasus, listed as destroyed, but unknown.

"And what of the Imperious Leader," Lucifer asked returning to the command room.

Baltar glanced back at the scanner. The basestar reported to be under attack, but no knowledge of by what. "We retreat, I warned him, not my fault he failed to listen."

"By your command," Lucifer said.

Baltar looked down now able to make out more of the Colonial warfleet. Two battlestars, two gunships, and a dozen smaller craft all heading towards the basestar. The burning question in his mind now, where had they come from? Slightly more important was did they have more than what was being shown? He had the feeling Adama had to have had something to do with it.

Baltar turned heading back to his chair to wait and see what happened next.

BSGBSG

"Commander, Pratt is on the line," Rebecca said.

"Put it though," Ares said, looking at the scanner. So far everything had gone pretty much as planned. The biggest let down was basestar six managed to escape at the moment.

"Commander, anything you want us to do beside the current targets," Pratt asked.

"No, the 3rd Fleet needs to destroy those ships. The nearest replacements are several weeks away still," Ares said.

"Okay," Pratt replied.

The communications ended leaving Ares to look at the total picture of what had happened in the battle. The Argo still currently engaged as was the Enterprise. Baltar's basestar had retreated at the first sign of the 3rd Fleet.

Behind the 3rd Fleet an assortment of transports, fuel tankers and other craft had also arrived. Ares activated the communicator again waiting for General Pakrov to answer.

"Commander Ares, I was waiting for your call," the man said.

"Everything is set, begin the operations," Ares said.

"All right," Pakrov said, "Oh yeah, the booster relays are set up now."

"Booster relays?" Ares asked, not sure what that was.

"Oh, right, you don't know about them. Doctor Weaver discovered the technology on the Orion, a way to boost the speed of transmissions over long distance. We now have almost instant communications with Earth," Pakrov said.

Ares sat stunned at that.

"Of course the Argo's communications will require a slight modification to use the system," Pakrov said.

"The ships of the 3rd Fleet have the technology?" Ares said.

"Of course," Pakrov said.

"All right, then we'll have to set up a meeting between all leaders," Ares said. "Start setting up the base on the following planet."

Ares sent the instructions to the general who nodded before signing off. Ares glanced over at Troy who seemed as shocked at the recent technology news as anyone else.

"Seems the doctor never stopped taking that ship apart," Troy said.

"Wonder why they invented such technology?" Ares said. "The only logical explanation includes a large empire."

"Maybe not," Troy said. "They might have developed it for their fight against the Arbus, a way of setting up signal bases on distant planets to monitor the movements."

"Possible, but there might be more to this," Ares said. "Schedule a time to have the Argo's communications upgraded. There are a lot of people on board who want to call home."

"Yes sir," Troy replied.

"Sir, Commander Adama is on the line," Rebecca said.

"Put it though," Ares said. "Commander, how is the Galactica?"

"Survived fine, minor damage," Adama said. "We suffered no losses in the fleet, what about the battle fleet?"

"Took the Cylons by complete surprise. They are still engaged, but the other three have fallen back," Ares said. He looked down to notice that two of the Cylon basestars had been destroyed. "Only one left to engage."

"Good, one of the hits took out our scanners," Adama said.

"I think we can repair that," Ares said. The Skartians were very adept at repairs. "Oh, there will be some aliens that will come on board to help with the repairs. Allies of Earth."

"I'll trust your judgment on this, after all you've worked with them for a couple of years now," Adama said.

"We helped liberate their homeworld about halfway through the war," Ares said. "Good people, not fighters, but great builders."

"Any news about this Galactic Council?" Adama said.

"Not yet, but the fleet's communications will be upgraded. Seems a booster has been discovered and we can talk with President Xai to see what the situation is," Ares stated.

"Improved communications, very nice," Adama said.

"Yeah, I want to get the council together to have a conference call with the leaders back at CB3 and Earth," Ares said.

"A general discussion," Adama said.

"Yes, we've reached a turning point," Ares said. He'd been fighting on the defensive due to the Colonial fleet, now he had the tools to fight deep into Cylon territory and destroy them once and for all.

"You remind me of Cain," Adama said. "He never was good at defense, but offensively a genius."

"I don't like being on the defensive, the offensive is easier to control many times. That and it's been yahrens since the Cylons have been on the defensive. We have an advantage and we have to use it now before they adapt," Ares said.

"I don't think anyone in the fleet will have a problem with that Commander," Adama replied. "We lived though our homes being destroyed, our friends and loved ones killed. I think they deserve it."

"You think the Council will accept such a tactic. If we go on the offensive, it won't end this time until the Cylons have been destroyed. No peace talks, no surrender," Ares said.

"The Council has changed since the destruction of the Colonies. Each time they've tried such tactics it's backfired on them," Adama said. "The last time Baltar, the Eastern Alliance and Boralian Noman kidnapped them."

"All right, we'll meet on the Warspite in three hours," Ares said.

BSGBSG

Bri glanced over at Troy in the rec room. Troy's parents were watching Mary run off some energy after having been kept locked up in a room during the battle.

"So, Ares thinks a turning point has been reached?" Bri asked, having been told of the conversation between Ares and Adama.

"Yep, reminds me of what Commander Cain might say," Troy said. "But."

"But what?"

"I still get the feeling that my vision will come true, the Argo will be destroyed," Troy stated. "I don't know how, or when but I feel it stronger now than ever before."

Bri sat back in her seat not sure what to say to Troy about that. Silence fell in their conversation after Troy's remark. She looked over at Mary who appeared to be charming another fighter pilot.

"Then we'll have to try hard to make sure that doesn't happen," Bri replied.

"It may not be that simple," Troy answered. "If I knew more, maybe, but, I don't know. My father had visions of the attack by the Cylons, but knew not when until it happened. I guess some things can't be changed."

"Perhaps, but we don't know. I don't think the future is set in stone," Bri said. She'd keep an eye on the Argo during battle from now on.

Continued in Plans


	71. Chapter 71: Plans

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Plans**

Apollo piloted the shuttle towards the Warspite's landing bay. The ship appeared similar to the battlestars, but he noticed a sleeker look and more weapons than any other ships he'd seen before. He looked over at Starbuck then back at the council and Adama.

"So, what does all this mean?" Starbuck asked.

Apollo looked over at his friend thinking about everything he'd learned about Commander Ares. "Well, if Commander Ares is anything like Commander Cain, I think we're in for an offensive drive for a change."

"Offensive, not sure I know what that is anymore."

"I know what you mean, we've been on the defensive for so long I've forgotten as well," Apollo replied.

"Well, if he does go, I think I want to go as well," Starbuck said.

"I think everyone on board the Galactica wants to," Apollo said, smiling at that. The Galactica's crew had actually started working quite well with the crews of the Argo and Enterprise. It seemed more like one large battlestar than three. Vipers flew from one to the other routinely. Patrols consisted of mixed groups, pilots transferred from one battlestar to the other.

He and Starbuck had been on board the Enterprise for the last battle but transferred back to the Galactica to shuttle the Council and his father to the Warspite.

Touching down on the hangar deck of the Warspite the two powered down the shuttle's engines before the council and Adama disembarked the shuttle. Apollo followed Starbuck out the door where several crewmembers were waiting. They spotted the familiar form of Bri and Nall.

"Come on, let's go over there, maybe get something to eat," Apollo said, leading Starbuck over to the two.

"Hey," Bri said.

"We were going to find something to eat, care to join us?" Apollo asked.

"Sure," Nall replied.

The four made their way to the small cafeteria on board the ship. Apollo noticed that while the outside looked slightly different the inside seemed very close in design to the Enterprise.

"Is this the same class as the Enterprise?" he finally asked as they walked up to the food.

"Not really, the Warspite was designed differently. Stealth designs are slightly different in weapons and shields. Stealth ships though generally carry more fighters while the non-stealth ships are designed for close combat," Bri replied.

Apollo felt slightly impressed that Bri knew that much about the different classes. The Colonies had mainly kept the same design now for almost 500 yehrens. The fact that the Earthers had redesigned the class for modifications seemed refreshing for a change.

"I heard that they Council is talking with Earth?" Starbuck asked.

"That's what we heard," Nall said. "Seems some new communication technology."

"It makes things easier, I hope," Apollo said. "How close are we to Earth?"

He watched Nall shrug and look over at Bri, who looked back at him with the same look.

"You don't know?" Nall asked.

"I don't keep track of that," Bri replied.

"I thought with Troy as the Argo's second you'd know that?" Nall asked.

"Hey, its not like we spend time talking about star charts!" Bri said.

"Is that an invitation?" Nall asked, wiggling his eyebrows.

"Dream on," Bri replied, hitting Nall's shoulder.

Apollo wondered if he missed something there. Glancing at Starbuck he saw the same confused look. He figured, like he and Starbuck, Bri and Nall had their share of unspoken communications. He hoped that the two governments could communicate.

BSGBSG

"Baltar, we are receiving a communications from the Imperious Leader," Lucifer said.

Baltar glanced down at the screen for several seconds before finally activating it.

"Most excellent Imperious Leader, what can I do for you," Baltar said, giving a smile despite being insincere.

"It has come to my attention that you seem to know more of what's going on with the Colonials, even more than normal," the Imperious Leader said. "How is that?"

"Like I told you before, I think like they do, know what needs they'll have," Baltar said, mentally rolling his eyes. But while he spoke another plan formed in his mind.

"Then you know where they managed to build several battlestars," the Imperious Leader asked.

"That I don't know," Baltar said. "Unless your predecessor failed to destroy all the battlestars?"

"Impossible, we do not fail our missions," the Imperious Leader said.

"No, the Cylons don't," Baltar said, seeing Lucifer turn slightly towards him. "I cautioned you for more intelligence, not ambushes. Adama seemed to know exactly when, and where, you were attacking."

"Then perhaps we have a leak," the Imperious Leader said.

"Then you've learned nothing about humans," Baltar replied back, his brow furrowing in anger.

"I have learned the humans can be manipulative when dealing with others. Perhaps this was a ploy, a plan to lure us so far away from our homeworld to destroy us," the Imperious Leader said.

"And you've finally blown your circuits," Baltar said.

"Either way, I'll be watching you Baltar."

The communications ended leaving Baltar still angry. He looked at Lucifer who merely glanced back at him waiting.

"Lucifer, how are your connections at the Capital?" Baltar asked, knowing it was time to put his plan into action.

BSGBSG

Ares listened in while the Earth council and the Council of the Twelve sparred back and forth. So far nothing much had gotten done aside from the formal meeting, and stuff. There appeared to be a mutual amount of respect for each other. He did have the feeling the Earthers would be more willing than the council.

"Commander Ares, you had something to discuss with us," he heard President Xai ask.

Caught off guard briefly Ares sat in shock before quickly recovering. "Yes, yes I did. As you know with the addition of the 3rd Fleet we now have a total of five battlestars, eight cruisers and a dozen destroyers. With some quick repairs to the Galactica, Argo and Enterprise I propose to send this force towards Cylon space and attack. We're building a new base that will serve as the front base."

"Are you suggesting we attack the Cylon Empire," Sam Harvey asked.

"Yes," Ares said.

"Preposterous," Councilmember Uri said. "Completely and utterly irresponsible I say."

Ares looked around noticing Pratt and Adama's faces. He knew Pratt had no problem with the plan, he didn't know how Adama would feel about such actions.

"If the fleet isn't here then who will protect us against the Cylons?" Siress asked.

"Don't you see that's the problem?" Ares stated. "We've fought a defensive war against an enemy who only wishes to destroy us. With that logic we cannot win, only fight until both sides are so exhausted that one side does something drastic. In the meantime countless lives are lost in a wasted effort."

"You saying the past thousand yahrans have been for nothing!" Uri said, outraged.

"No, but this is the first time we've had an advantage in over a hundred yahrans. We have a chance to end this war now, forever, or do you want war forever?" Ares replied looking at Uri.

"I will not be accused of leaving our people defenseless," Uri said. Ares started to reply when Xai cut him off.

"Earth will support such actions."

Ares noticed Xai's statement stopped all conversation. Several members of the Council of Twelve openly stared at the screen. Sam appeared calm despite the implications of the statement.

"You can't be serious my dear sir," Uri replied. "Such actions are sure to bring even further problems."

"The way I see it is that we have an opportunity to end the war as Commander Ares says. You wish for more war then sir?" Xai asked.

"Of course not, but there are other things to do, rebuild our civilization," Uri said.

"Are you stating that we have no idea what you're going through? We lost millions of people in our war against the Arbus, lost our history and just now regaining it. We helped another race rebuild their world and have since learned of countless other races who the Arbus treated in the same manner," Xai said. "And now we've learned of another threat to our survival, one who will come for us."

"There is no proof they will," Uri said, even as he said it Ares knew Uri didn't believe it. The councilmember's voice died out at the statement. For several more seconds no one spoke.

Adama cleared his throat. "Uri, I think the Council remembers the last time you said something like this."

Ares glanced from Adama to the members of the Council wondering what he'd missed.

"Is it so wrong to want peace Adama?" Uri asked.

"No, I would love to see peace in my time, but I also know our enemy," Adama replied. "The young and innocent die in wars, but stopping it now could mean so much more. I have to side with Commander Ares as well."

"Our warriors haven't been on the offensive for yahrens," Uri said. "What about defenses?"

"The Earth military is made up of four fleets, each with two battlestars, four cruisers and six destroyers. There is currently one Skartian fleet as well consisting of one large ships and four smaller ships that would help in defense of Earth," Pratt answered.

Ares had to admit the growth of the fleet over the past year surprised him slightly. The construction abilities of the Skartians seemed very impressive. Earth had eight battlestars, four of which were currently here.

"You realize at the height of the war against the Cylons the Colonies had more than this?" Uri finally said.

"Of course," Pratt replied. "But half of the ships in the fleet are stealth ships, and most viper squadrons are created with the same materials. We've made large improvements in all aspects of offensive and defensive technologies. When the battlestars were first built we had an advantage but failed to us it. As a result the war lasted another five hundred yahrens."

"With a combination of stealth and heavy combat ships we can strike deep into Cylon territory. Destroying building factories, plants and fuel supplies could quickly cripple them," Ares said.

"Resources were becoming scarce at the end of the war, if we act quickly the Cylons might not have had time to find new resources," Adama said.

"And the Space around Earth is filled with resources," Xai said.

Ares knew that for the truth. The first base he had created, Centari One, teemed with metals. One moon in the Earth system also appeared teeming with fuel for a war effort.

"Very well, I shall call for a vote then," Uri said.

BSGBSG

Doctor Weaver made his way across the deck of the ship. He looked around at the hard working crewmembers. He made his way up to the bridge where he would install the latest computers for the ship. Sure he could have sent one of his assistants, but this ship, it came from him home. He stepped onto the bridge and stood there for a few seconds taking it all in.

"Can I help you," a tall blonde haired man said.

"Sorry, just lost in thought here," Tommy said. "I mean this is where Commander Cain made some of the greatest decisions in the Colonies."

"You're from the Colonies?" the man asked.

"Yes, head science officer on the Argo, now head of technology of the new Earth military," Tommy said. "I'm here for the computer upgrades."

"I heard that was going to happen. I'm Talon," he said. "I was the second in command under Cain."

"I guess you're now commander then," Tommy said.

"Yeah, just hard to believe, I guess I always thought that he'd die with the Pegasus," Talon said.

"Seems like the way he'd go," Tommy said making a decision. "Commander Ares I think will probably decide to attack the Cylons."

"Sounds like something Cain would try," Talon said. "I wonder if the Pegasus would be repaired in time?"

"Probably," Tommy said, watching Talon's face. The tall man sure failed to hide his emotions at the prospect of attacking the Cylons. "The Skartians are the greatest builders I've ever seen. Not the best fighters, but wonderful builders."

"So I've seen, don't they ever rest?" Talon asked.

"Yeah, they don't need rest like we do, however it seems nature gave us an advantage, we're quicker, stronger and tougher than they are. Our weakness is we have to rest," Tommy said.

Doctor Weaver," a voice said from behind him. He turned to see a couple of Skartians standing there with equipment.

"Ah, Bleeto, normal set up I believe," Tommy said to him. "I'll be programming the computers after they finish installing them."

"Computers?"

"Yeah, we've upgrading the Pegasus' computer so it can communicate with the rest of the fleet," Tommy said. "It gets interesting with all the different systems to make sure none interfere with the others."

"Well, it's why there are so many on the bridge, all the different systems," Talon said.

"Yep, but you'll see more room after this, and quicker response times as well," Tommy said. "And color monitors."

"Color?"

"Yeah, the Earthers were quite advanced in the electronic field before we arrived," Tommy said. He felt glad that Ares had managed to keep the battlestar systems separate to prevent a computer attack. Now he had to get the Pegasus read for battle once more.

"I think I'm going to make a call," Talon said.

"All right," Tommy said, smiling slightly at the man's back. He felt sure the Pegasus would be heading back to the Colonies once more.

BSGBSG

Troy sat on the command chair of the Argo waiting for the report on the meeting. So far little had come back. They had been talking now for over an hour. He felt slightly surprised by the length of time. Ares didn't like long meetings.

"Colonel, communications from the Galactica."

"I'll take it here," Troy replied not surprised when Colonel Tigh appeared on the screen. "Colonel Tigh, what can I do for you?"

"Our landing bays are offline for the next cycle," Tigh said. "Repair crews arrived, these Skartians are very different than I thought."

"Efficient as well," Troy stated. "So a cycle, I think the rest of the fleet can handle the patrols for a while. Besides, the Cylons appear to have retreated for the time being."

"I noticed even Baltar's basestar retreated," Tigh said. "I don't expect them to stay back for long."

"Nope, also wouldn't surprise me to see a new basestar design appear," Troy said. "The Warspite is different and from what I've heard the Richelieu class is even larger, and carries more fighters and weapons."

"Hard to believe that the Earthers have built so many battlestars and different designs," Tigh said in a bit of wonder.

"They try and keep things new and updated. Two battelstars to the Argo design, not including the Argo, four to the Warspite, and now at least one Richelieu, and that doesn't include the three we lost during the war," Troy said.

"Incredible," Tigh said.

"Colonel," Rebecca's voice interrupted him. "Incoming message from Commander Ares."

"Excuse me for a moment Tigh," Troy said, watching the other colonel nod before switching the screen. Ares' face appeared. "Commander?"

"Troy, what's the condition of the fleet?" Ares asked.

"Well, aside from the Galactica, I think every ship is combat ready, many could use a quick tune up to the engines though," Troy replied.

"All right, get together with the Colonel AJ on the Warspite and relay what supplies we need. I want the fleet ready to move out when the Pegasus arrives," Ares said.

"The Pegasus?" Troy asked.

"Yes, it's undergoing refits right now, that will give us six battlestars here with the arrival of the Richelieu. The Enterprise and Argo are to split duty at the moment to patrol towards Cylon space. Commander Gunther already states his ship can begin the first patrol," Ares said.

"Yes sir," Troy replied.

"Good, I'll be back aboard shortly then," Ares said, signing off.

The screen went back to Tigh who also appeared slightly confused.

"We're going on the offensive?" Tigh asked.

"I don't know, sounds like it once the Pegasus arrives," Troy said. "Ares only told me to get the fleet ready."

"Adama was a bit more forthcoming, said Ares mentioned an offensive into Cylon territory," Tigh replied.

Troy thought about that for several seconds. "Sounds like Ares," he finally said. "If the Cylons get any closer they might find Earth, then our advantage is gone."

"True, wonder what they thought of the sudden appearance of so many battlestars?"

Troy wondered the same thing. Would the Cylons gather their resources and attack, or sit back for a feww moments to gather intelligence. At the moment he had no idea.

BSGBSG

Bri flew her viper between two battlestars looking at them. On her right, the battlestar Galactica, on her left the newest battlestar, Richelieu. The overall design the same, but the new class had a sleek dangerous look to it. In a small way the ship reminded Bri of the shark.

She never thought she would see so many battlestars again. In visual range she could see the Warspite and Argo, to go along with the Galactica and Richelieu. The Enterprise had gone on patrol at the moment so would be back shortly.

"So, think it's true?" Nall's voice said. "Think Commander Ares will go on the offensive?"

"Yeah, I do," Bri replied. "After all, it does make sense when you really think about it. We have those tin cans on the run for the first time in years. Is Mary going to continue to stay on the Argo?"

"I don't know, with the latest base here I think Rebecca is thinking about settling down," Nall stated.

"And you?" Bri asked, already knowing that Rebecca had thought about it.

"I think knowing they are closer will help. I mean last time we didn't know how long we'd be gone, after all two plus years is a long time," Nall replied. "Mary is already approaching four years old, and it's almost that time to start her in school."

Bri listened to Nall talk about things she once thought impossible for Nall to say. Of course the fleet base would be well defended, and she had the feeling that the Argo would return frequently for return trips.

"Seems that the base will make a good colony as well later on. Might try and get a good spot early on for a nice house here, sell the one back on Earth," Nall said continuing on.

Bri thought about that as well. She felt slightly relieved she and Troy had sold their house on Earth. She'd have to bring up this with him if Nall and Rebecca were thinking about buying one here. It made a good spot, close to Earth and the Colonies, if they were recovered.

"You know, sounds good, but we still have to defeat the Cylons," Bri said.

"I know, just making plans, looking to the future," Nall said.

"I'll let you dream for now, until the reality sets in," Bri replied.

"I'm always looking for the future, no matter how faraway it is," Nall replied.

"I know," Bri replied, thinking about the number of times Nall tried to get her into his bed.

"I heard the Pegasus is under repairs," Nall said.

"Yep, saw it in the reports, the Skartians are working double time on it. Ares has given Tolan command of the ship and it's to report here when done," Bri replied.

"Good, six battlestars, an impressive fleet for sure," Nall said.

"Yep, I wonder what will happen when we finally move out? Hopfully the war is close to an end," Bri said.

"Yeah, I heard a rumor about the Galactic Council. They want to help this time," Nall said.

"Really, here I thought they were full of hot air," Bri said. "Guess some things change after all."

"Yep, hey, its time to head in," Nall said.

Bri glanced at the time noticing that their fuel tanks were half full. "All right, after you."

BSGBSSG

Baltar watched as Lucifer walked back into the command room. "Well, report?"

"Things back at the capital are not good Baltar," Lucifer said. "There are reports that the continued losses to the small Colonial fleet has caused some to begin to doubt the Imperious Leader's decisions."

"Excellent," Baltar said. "I think it's time to repair our ship Lucifer. Make plans for it to be done at the captain docks."

Lucifer stood still for several seconds before the Cylon replied. "The capital docks Baltar, are you sure you wish to leave Adama and the Colonial fleet?" Lucifer asked.

"Don't question my orders," Baltar replied. "I have my reasons."

"By your command Baltar," Lucifer siad, bowing then leaving the command center.

Baltar thought about his plan. The fact that the Cylon government was torn only helped him out even more. True they wouldn't accept him as leader, but if he put a puppet up on the government stand, one who he could influence highly, then he'd be in control, and one step closer to his goal.

BSGBSG

Ares glanced around at the other council members now that the meeting had ended. Many glanced in disbelief in his direction, but the President had backed him up had allowed him to go though with his plans.

"Commander Ares," he heard Adama's voice say. He turned to look at the older man, who had seen so much.

"Commander Adama," Ares replied, waiting.

"I've learned though the journey the Council, they're trying hard to do what they feel is right for the survivors," Adama said. "They've had to come the realization, as I did, we didn't have the resources or people to fight the Cylons in a war. That took a while for and now they have to readjust their mindset again."

Ares stood still not having thought of that before. True the council had had many months to get used to the idea of Earth and more ships, he had not gone though the destruction of the colonies.

"I guess it's a bit ironic then, if it wasn't for Cain I wouldn't be here," Ares said.

"We all owe Cain so much," Adama said.

"He was my first squadron commander," Ares said. "When he moved onto command positions aboard the Pegasus I wanted to join him, but there were no open spots. I took a position on the Pacifica under another former squadron member. Then they wanted someone to command the Argo, I had no idea what I was getting into."

"I don't think any of this was covered in training," Adama said.

Ares laughed a bit. "No, don't remember this in any training, but we have a chance now to take what we've learned and do something."

"You really think we can win," Adama said.

"Yes, the only other alternative is run and hide," Ares said.

"I see," Adama said.

"I think we have the advantage, the Cylons scanners still haven't adapted to our S-metal. The longer we wait the more likely they are to adapt. We must press our advantage now," Ares said.

"You think six battlestars will do it?" Adama said.

"We never had that many in service at any time," Ares said. "I think we can get away with this, that and the ships are undergoing a small refit, repair and upgrades."

"Yes, Tigh told me about the Skartians who came aboard the Galactica," Adama said.

"They understand what's at stake," Ares said. "Their home-world had been destroyed once already. We're helping them out as much as they help us out."

"I had an interesting conversation with one named Keela," Adama said. "He hold you in high regard."

Ares looked down at the compliment, something he didn't get that often to his face. He heard them all around, a few whispered words about his abilities. A leader who didn't know the word fail, he had heard once.

"An interesting place isn't it," Adama said. Ares looked up to see the man glancing out the window. "Command, a living legend."

"That's Commander Cain, not me," Ares replied.

"That's where you're wrong, and right," Adama said. "Took me a while to realize many of us are living legends. Many survivors look at me that way, and I see many Earthers look at you that same way. You are that blend of Cain and myself, military and politics."

"Don't consider myself one," Ares said, but even as he spoke the words he seemed to understand what Adama meant. "I think I've got some planning to finish up. The Pegasus will be here in two days."

"Of course," Adama said. "I need to look in on how our people are settling down."

Ares watched the commander leave before heading towards the hangar and going back to the Argo.

Continued in Martin


	72. Chapter 72: Martin

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Martin**

Troy looked around the bridge of the Argo watching everyone do their job. The fleet finally was complete, and six battlestars now were on their way to Cylon space leading the largest human war fleet in years. Commander Ares had split the fleet into two different groups, the stealth group and the combat group. The stealth group only had two battlestars but that could allow them an advantage over any other Cylon fleet out there.

Troy looked at the map again wondering exactly why he kept looking at it. Something had to be going on for him to be doing that. Arms around his waist briefly startled him until he recognized the arms belonging to Bri.

"Whatcha thinking about?" she asked.

"Eh, not sure, keep looking at the map for some reason," Troy replied.

"Hmm," she said, as Troy watched her look at it as well. "Nope, nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing but a few planets, and no good ambush spots. The few basestars out there are not in a good position to do anything either."

"True," Troy replied, looking at the map again. The Argo and Enterprise currently were headed to one of the basestars to destroy it. The commanders had decided to allow the stealth fleet to destroy basestars on the way to deplete the Cylon fleet before reaching the heart of the Cylon territory.

"What's the situation?" Ares' voice said, breaking Troy out of his musings.

"The target is still there, seems to have settled in orbit around the planet, though we're picking up transmissions from the planet," Troy said.

"The Cylon outer capital," Ares said. "Commander Cain had pounded that place for a long time."

Troy nodded having read the reports as well. The Pegasus had managed to keep the Cylons off guard with that base. After the basestar had been taken care of the Pegasus and Richelieu would come in and destroy it once and for all. Commander Ares had given the mission to Tolan, the new commander of the Pegasus. In a way it seemed fitting to Troy that the Pegasus headed the attack.

"We're almost in range," Troy said.

"All pilots are ready as well," Bri said.

"Let's make sure surprise is complete and they don't get a message off," Ares said. "The Enterprise is ready?"

"Spoke with Commander Gunther already and he's ready when you are," Troy replied.

"Good," Ares said. "Prepare for action, red alert."

Troy relayed the order then receiving a kiss from Bri before she turned and headed to the hangar. The bridge lighting changed from normal to red indicating the status of the ship.

"Begin jamming," Ares stated.

BSGBSG

The Argo went to red alert closing in on the Cylon basestar. No raiders emerged from the basestar even as four squadrons of vipers swooped down in it. Bri lead the vipers from the Argo and quickly waited for the computers to lock onto the basestar. She figured the basestar had to know something had happened with so many weapon locks on it.

"Fire!" she ordered pressing on the trigger.

Over two hundred missiles streaked towards the basestar. Bri hoped her missile would destroy the hanger. That would make their lives easier for sure. Destroying the raiders before they could launch meant more of her group would make it home.

The missiles impacted on the basestar causing several small explosions to occur to the outer hull of the ship. She glanced down at her scanner to check the status of the basestar. Nodding at the amount of damage the ship had taken she pulled the vipers back to allow the Argo to finish off the Cylon warship.

"All squadron leaders, keep an eye out for any raiders that might be able to launch," Bri said. The hangers had taken quite a bit of damage so she hoped no raider would launch.

The basestar didn't take much more before exploding. Bri turned her fighter group around heading back to the Argo.

BSGBSG

Ares looked at the latest reports from the scouts. So far the Eastern Alliance had been quiet. It appeared that the appearance of the Galactica and the destruction of the missiles had finally brought a peace to the planet. He glanced around at the locations of the basestars. They had to destroy several more before the final strike on the Cylon home world could begin.

"Commander," Troy's voice said, breaking Ares' concentration.

"What's up Troy?" Ares asked.

"Well, it's a bit personal, commander," Troy said. "It's something for Nall and Bri actually."

"All right," Ares said, putting down the notepad waiting for Troy to ask his question.

"Well, it's been almost twelve years since we passed this point, do you remember what happened last time we were here?" Troy asked.

Ares glanced at the galaxy map and thought for a few seconds. It would have been early in the voyage, but he still had a good recollection of what happened.

"The Cylons were out here, the base they had," Ares said.

"Yes, it was also the point where Bri and Nall lost a good friend, Martin," Troy said.

"You want to find him?" Ares asked. This long he wondered if Martin had even survived.

"No, not him, his son, Captain Apollo knows him," Troy said.

Ares frowned for a second before recalling a conversation with Adama. "When Apollo crashed early in their flight."

"Yes sir," Troy said. "I'd like permission for a small group to head down and meet him and Martin's wife, and to take Apollo as well. He'd know the local customs and such."

Ares glanced at the map again before bringing up the planet in question. There were no Cylon basestars nearby, and actually it would make a good place to refuel the fleet before heading though the void and back home.

"All right, I'll ask Commander Adama if Apollo wishes to go," Ares said.

"Thanks commander," Troy said.

"Well, it does provide a nice place to refuel the fleet, that is if the outpost is still there after all this time with the Cylons around," Ares said.

"I think it will be there," Troy said. "I'll go let Nall and Bri know."

"All right," Ares said watching Troy walk off the bridge. True what he did wasn't that professional, but after everything he'd been though, Troy, Bri, Nall and the rest were his family. He hoped he could convince Adama, or at least hide it for a while as the fleet refueled.

BSGBSG

Apollo headed up to the bridge of the Galactica, Starbuck right behind him. His father wanted to have a word with him.

"Apollo, good, I have a strange mission for you if you want it," Adama said.

Apollo frowned glancing at Starbuck who shrugged as well. "How dangerous?"

"Nothing really, or at least it shouldn't be this time, and you'll have fuel to get back this time," Adama said.

"Okay, now I'm confused," Apollo stated.

"Do you remember when you crashed landed, and met a widow of Martin," Adama said.

"Yeah, we're headed back there?" Apollo asked.

"A few of Martin's friends want to head back and see his son," Adama said.

"Well, I guess so, it would also fulfill a promise I made," Apollo said.

"All right, take a shuttle over the Argo, you'll leave right away," Adama said.

"What about the fleet?" Starbuck asked. "I mean just dropping everything to see one person."

"We're refueling not far from the planet, well within range of the shuttle without taking extra fuel," Adama said. "And it will allow us to regroup slightly before heading though the void."

"And the attack on Gamoray?" Apollo asked.

"The Pegasus and Richelieu are almost about to attack, then they'll be headed here to refuel, repair and rearm," Adama said.

"All right," Apollo said.

"I'll go with you, after all we can't have the strike captain of the Galactica going off alone now," Starbuck said.

"I already included you as part of the flight crew," Adama said.

"I guess I'll see you later then," Apollo said. "We should get down to the hanger then."

The two left the bridge headed to the hangar where they'd head over to the Argo.

BSGBSG

Troy walked towards the shuttle where the rest of the group waited. He already saw Bri and Nall and by the stance of Bri, Nall had reverted back to his old ways.

Walking up to them he gave Bri a glance waiting to see what she'd say.

"He offered, I obliged," she said, not saying anything else.

"All right, I probably don't want to know, or will be told anyways," Troy said, looking over at the sound of approaching footsteps. He noticed Apollo and Starbuck walking towards them.

"I see our pilot and navigator are here," Nall said.

"Someone ask for directions," Starbuck asked.

"Yeah, where's down there," Bri asked.

Troy noticed both Starbuck and Apollo exchange a look before he decided to step in. "Don't worry about it, something between Nall and Bri."

"All right, if you say so," Apollo said. "We're to head out right away I guess?"

"Yeah, the quicker we get out there and back the better for us all," Troy said.

"Only one shuttle?" Starbuck asked.

"Yeah, closest Cylon activity is several systems away, and the Colonial Bound is watching that," Troy stated.

"So you knew this person who crashed on the planet?" Apollo asked as they walked on board the shuttle.

"We went through training together," Bri said, pointing to her and Nall. "The Argo was our first assignment."

"You do know he's dead," Apollo asked.

"Yeah, but we wanted to see his son, and who he married," Bri said.

"Hey, you told her you'd return," Starbuck said.

"I know, just seems a bit surreal to me that's all," Apollo said.

The group sat down in the shuttle as Starbuck and Apollo went though the start-up procedure. Seconds later the shuttle blasted off heading to a planet nearby.

BSGBSG

Stan sat back in the bar watching to make sure no trouble started. He had moved to the small town not long ago and now enjoyed a simple, full life. He'd been hired as a local deputy, having gotten along with the sheriff. Things in the town were generally quiet and the most trouble was a local drunk. This was a life he could enjoy for a change. Gambling had been his business but decided a change was in order when he came here.

He glanced up at the unexpected hush of the crowd. Everyone in the bar looked towards the entrance. Turning his head slightly he noticed a group of people standing there, all of them dressed in brown and wearing weapons he'd never seen before. The side arms didn't look like nemos. Standing he decided to take charge before anything else went wrong.

"Sorry, no weapons allowed in the bar," Stan said, hoping he sounded convincing.

"Oh, sorry," the blonde woman said, unbuckling her holster. "Um, is there somewhere safe we can put them?"

"Sure," Stan said, indicating a spot near the entrance.

"Apollo?" a voice said. Stan looked at one of the locals and recognized the name mentioned. One of the dark-haired men turned.

"Yeah," he said.

Stan thought about where he heard the name before realizing it was associated with the story of Red Eye. So this was the warrior who defeated the tin can.

"Thought you left, man, they'll be glad to see you."

"I did leave, but was in the neighborhood and decided to drop by with some friends of Martin's," the one called Apollo said.

Stan wasn't familiar with Martin, thinking the man was someone they had in common.

"Puppis still can't stop talking about you, though Vela has managed to temper him slightly."

Stan frowned at the turn in the conversation. He finally stepped forward to ask.

"So this is Apollo, the one who defeated Red Eye, but why is he just now returning?" Stan asked.

"I had a journey to undertake and these are some friends I met along the way. They wanted to meet Vela and Puppis," Apollo replied.

Stan started to say more when a blonde haired woman stepped though the door and stopped.

"Apollo?"

BSGBSG

Troy glanced from the man who appeared to be the local law officer to the woman in the doorway. He recognized her almost right away. A bit older perhaps, but still very close to how he'd seen her. The fact she knew Apollo almost confirmed his thoughts.

"Vela," Apollo replied.

"Puppis will be glad to see you," she said, finally.

"Well, didn't know if I'd be back so soon," Apollo replied. "Um, Vela, these are friends of Martin."

Troy watched her face change slightly at that bit of news. Deciding to take the initiative he stepped forward and introduced himself.

"I'm Troy, this is Bri and Nall," he said pointing each of them out.

"Nall and Bri, Martin spoke of you often," Vela said, looking as if she was remembering a long-lost conversation. "Let's head back to my place and talk."

"I think we should," Troy agreed. The trip to the house didn't take very long. They were surprised by a blonde teen standing outside the house.

"Apollo, you've returned, I knew you would, I knew it, didn't I tell you mother," the teen said in an excited rush.

"Puppis," Apollo said. "You've grown quite a bit."

"Yeah, I'm taking more responsibility at in the work as well," Puppis replied.

"Been quite a help in this last season," Vela said. "Puppis, these are friends of your dad."

Troy watched the teen's face change. A different look of excitement appeared, a thirst for knowledge about a parent he probably couldn't remember.

"This is Troy, Bri and Nall," Vela said.

"We were close friends for many yahrens," Nall finally said.

"He has his father's eyes," Bri finally said.

"You really knew him?" Puppis asked.

"Yep, he'd sit with us and laugh while we," Nall pointed to him and Bri, "told jokes and exchanged pranks during training."

"You mean my pranks on you for acting up," Bri replied, giving Nall a slight slap on the arm.

"Yeah, something like that," Nall replied.

BSGBSG

Ares glanced around the bridge of the Argo knowing what the next couple of months would bring. The Earth council had approved the missions, and had confirmed Ares as commander of the fleet once more. Not that he felt he wouldn't get it, but with politics one never knew. Genearl Pakrov had been appointed to the newly renamed Base Hope. The forward station for the attack fleet and where the Colonials had settled down for the moment. With high-speed communications, news no longer traveled so slow.

"Incoming message from Commander Pratt," Rebecca said.

"I'll take it up here," Ares said, not having to wait long before Pratt's face appeared.

"What can I do for you old friend," Ares said.

"Just informing you that the Earth council has voted to accept the survivors from the Colonies. They have a few transports that can bring people back, if they want," Pratt said.

"Interesting, I'll let Commander Adama know about that, what about the civilians, what are they saying?" Ares asked.

"A bit mixed, but most still support what you're going to do. There's a few who are crying that Earth shouldn't get involved," Pratt said. "They are being looked at as clones though, and are having to be tested. On the other hand, the Galactic Council, they're making noise again."

"Again, now what?" Ares asked, almost afraid of what they might be yelling about.

"Seems they want the technology we have. They think they are entitled to it or something," Pratt said.

"So in other words, nothing new. Any word on the Arbus relations with the Galactic Council," Ares said.

"Strained, with us backing the freedom of the Arbus, they are not demanding much of anything at the moment," Pratt replied. "The Arbus though, they are beginning to follow through with their promise to help those who suffered."

Ares nodded his head, feeling slightly relieved. When he had read that part he had been concerned. But Earth didn't have the resources to help everyone rebuild, and fight off the Cylons. The Skartians were too valuable a resource to waste as well. The only logical conclusion had been the Arbus, unless the Galactic Council became involved. Most Earthers didn't trusted the Arbus more than the Galactic Council.

"What about Gamoray?" Pratt asked.

"The Pegasus and Richelieu destroyed it, forcing the Cylons back even more now. We're slowly destroying the Cylons fleet, I've noticed a new tactic, they are no longer allowing their basestars to operate alone," Ares said.

"Hmm, only a matter of time before another basestar of the new design appears," Pratt said.

"Yep, I already have the Colonial Bound scouting deep into Cylon territory to look for it," Ares said.

"Don't want to be surprised?"

"Nope, rather know it's coming," Ares said, seeing Pratt look off-screen for a second.

"General Pakrov has arrived at Hope Station, just got the call," Pratt said. "Have to go."

"We'll keep in touch," Ares said, watching the screen go blank. He turned to the scanners glancing at the dots of all the ships. "Arrival time of the Richelieu and Pegasus?"

"In another two hours," Rebecca said.

"Good, inform Colonel Troy about that so they know when to return," Ares said.

BSGBSG

Troy stood and walked out of the house when he felt his communicator go off. It was being relayed though the shuttle to improve distance.

"Colonel Troy," he said.

"Troy," he heard Rebecca's voice say. "Just wanted to let you know the Pegasus and Richelieu will arrive in less than two hours."

"Understood," Troy said. He replaced the communicator and walked back in where Bri was reliving a training story about her, Martin and Nall.

"So there he was, sitting there in the training pod, holding a flight stick that had come off. The poor trainer didn't know what to do," Bri said, laughing.

"I can't believe he took that one, it was the one you usually used," Nall said.

"Well, you should know better than to try and get back at me," Bri said. "Poor Martin, it's a wonder he continued to hang around us after everything we put him though."

"He said it was because he never knew what would happen next," Vela said. "He spoke of you two often."

"I feel as if I understand you all a bit better now," Starbuck said. Troy understood that statement. It had taken him a while to understand the complex relationship as well.

"For a long time Martin and Nall were my family," Bri said. "And I think he thought the same way. I guess you could say he was a brother to me."

"The odd thing was, he never said anything about going back, like he knew he had a destiny," Vela said. "He protected his ship, told me where it was, made sure the fuel remained, and never made any move to leave. I guess that's why we fell in love."

"He knew he'd play a role in a greater mission," Troy said. "I also told him he'd meet someone."

"You can see the future?" Vela said.

"Bit and pieces, and I knew that Martin wouldn't come back, or at least not on our voyage. I didn't know he'd die though," Troy said.

"So that's why the fuel was easy to get to," Apollo said. "I wondered about all of that, seemed as if it had been set up for me."

"Without Troy's vision we would have gone back after him, we didn't have the Cylons chasing us," Nall said.

"And I'd still be here," Apollo said.

"And all those plans you came up with, like disabling the Cyon basestar, helping Terra, never would have happened," Starbuck said.

"The universe is a strange thing, I think it wanted me to know that vision," Troy said.

"I think Martin would do it again even if he knew it would cost him his life," Bri finally said.

"I think we should begin heading back, the fleet's almost together and will be ready to move out," Troy said glancing at the time.

The group said their good-byes and headed back to the shuttle. Troy considered it a good mission, and perhaps they could make it back again.

BSGBSG

Baltar glanced down at Lucifer who had walked into the command deck.

"Report Lucifer," he said.

"By your command," Lucifer replied. "Reports have come in that an additional four basestars have been destroyed, and the base at Gamoray has been destroyed."

Baltar sat back thinking about that.

"Reports were the base was attacked by two battlestars," Lucifer said. "One was identified as the battlestar Pegasus."

"Yes, Commander Cain, of course, it makes sense, and the other, the Galactica?" Baltar asked.

"No Baltar, the scans did not match any known battlestar," Lucifer said.

"Hmm, interesting," Baltar said. "Seems they've managed to build an additional battlestar. I'm surprised they didn't use their cloak to get closer."

"They attacked first using fighters, which we still are not able to track," Lucifer said.

"I see," Baltar replied. "And the reply of the Imperious Leader?"

"He has ordered all basestars to operate in pairs," Lucifer said.

"He still has no idea what he's doing," Baltar replied.

"Shall we continue to the capital?"

"Of course, there's something to be discussed," Baltar said. He said nothing else and dismissed Lucifer. He would make sure that Adama and Cain would pay. They had humiliated him enough over the yehrens. Now he finally had a plan to gain revenge.

BSGBSG

Troy stepped back onto the bridge of the Argo after the short side trip. Everything appeared to be going smoothly. Commander Ares sat at his normal command chair.

"Commander, reporting back to duty," Troy said.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" Ares asked.

"Yes sir, spent some time learning about both of them and gave Puppis, Martin's son, stories about his father. I think he enjoyed it a lot. We also seemed to answer a lot of questions for Vela, Martin's wife, especially as to why he never tried to return," Troy stated.

"So, it was worth it then?" Ares said.

"Yes, it was, it allowed Captain Apollo to return to the Galactica, and he was an important part of the fleet's survival. Without him, we might have been too late to save the fleet from the Cylons," Troy said.

"I thought you were a bit crazy at the time to leave him. But at the same time, we had to continue on our path," Ares said.

"We had time to go after him, but I think after talking with Vela, he was happy, and at peace, at least until the Cylon showed up," Troy said. He knew from the commander's look he didn't really know that much about what happened. "It seemed a Cylon from that battle also crashed there. It was damaged and mistook a human as the Imperious Leader."

"That's dangerous," Ares said.

"Yeah, but the biggest problem, the guy was a big bully, used the Cylon to keep control and extort taxes from the people. Martin knew what it was and went after it, the Cylon was quicker. Apollo came in and seemed to be a bit quicker on the draw," Troy replied.

"I take it Bri and Nall know this?"

"Yeah, they both knew Martin wasn't the quickest person in a situation like that. Put him in a viper and he was very good, physical combat, not that good. But he did know his son, and he knew one day someone from the Colonies would return," Troy said.

"You told him?"

"What I had seen, yes, it was important," Troy replied. That conversation had been one of the hardest, yet Martin had accepted it with the calm determination he had always shown.

"The mysteries of the universe," Ares said. "I guess some things we'll never understand."

"Commander the Richelieu and Pegasus are hailing us," Rebecca said.

"All right," Ares said. Troy leaned in slightly to see the picture of Commander Steve Rizer of the Richelieu, a short man with salt and pepper hair, waiting for Commander Ares to speak.

"Commander, what's your situation?"

"We've completed refueling and rearming. Our replacement pilots have arrived and are settling in, the Pegasus is also done, so the Fifth Battlestar squad is reporting in sir," Steve said.

"Good, that means everyone is ready," Ares said. "Inform the fleet we move out. I want all ships to maintain contact, next stop, the void."

Continued in Coming Home


	73. Chapter 73: Coming Home

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Coming Home**

Bri glanced outside the window once more noticing the distinct lack of stars. She could make out the shapes of the fleet, or at least one of the battlestars that was close to them. Six battlestars, six cruisers and a dozen destroyers to go with a half-dozen supply ships. The last time she had been though this, they had been on their way to find Earth.

"Hey, whatcha thinking about?" Nall said sitting down next to her.

"Just the last time we went through here," Bri said.

"Seems like a lifetime ago, doesn't it," Nall replied.

"Just a bit," Bri replied. "So much has happened, I did wonder if we'd ever pass this way again in our lifetime."

"I know I never did," another voice said. Bri glanced up to see Jax and Boomer sitting down.

"I can imagine, you were probably just hoping the Cylons wouldn't follow you," Bri said.

"Yeah, turned out they had small bases out there already, and the pilots got sick, meaning we had to train new pilots, it was a mess," Boomer said.

"The pilots got sick?" Nall asked.

"Yeah, Jolly and I, well, we checked out a base, and were in a hurry to get to the party, Apollo's joining ceremony and well, by passed detox," Boomer said.

"Boomer, how could you?" Jax said, hitting him slightly on the arm.

"Well, in the long run it actually turned out quite well, but in the short term, well, we only had two pilots, Starbuck and Apollo. Though to listen to them talk, I wish I had been there for that training," Boomer said. "All he had was shuttle pilots who were all women, and they all turned out to be pretty good."

"Darn right," Bri said. She had dealt with enough problems with guys thinking they were better and had to prove herself over and over again.

"Don't mind her, she's just had to prove herself over and over," Nall said. "I think it has to do with her height."

Green eyes narrowed at Nall who only chuckled. "I'd be careful there, you don't know what I might do," Bri said.

"I think over the years you've done everything possible to me, and somehow I've survived," Nall replied.

"I'm sure I can think of something," Bri said, smiling.

"And you know, I'd take odds that you will," Nall said. "Never bet against her."

"So I see," Boomer said.

Bri glanced over to see Jax and Boomer relaxed, and sitting quite close to each other. She felt glad that Jax finally had found someone. The woman had been a constant leader and friend over the years. She felt sure she would have gone to command if it hadn't been her love of flying.

Bri glanced up at the new presence in the room. She quickly spotted Troy making his way through the crowd before sitting down next to her.

"Still no blue uniform?" she asked.

"Nah, feel more comfortable in this, besides, it's what Ares wears so I don't feel too bad on the bridge wearing this," Troy replied.

"You know, I don't think I've ever seen Ares in that blue command uniform," Jax said.

"Oh, he was, told me about it a while back," Troy said. "When he was on the Pacifica. Said he hated it, always looked up to Cain a bit. Decided when he had his own command no way would he wear it."

"Sounds like Ares," Bri replied. She couldn't imagine the commander in that uniform anyways. And she felt Troy was right, he did look better in the warrior uniform.

"Any word on when we're outta of this void?" Boomer asked.

"Well, based on the last data, should be another day or so," Troy said.

"Then what?" Jax said. "They could be waiting for us."

"Nah, the Fire Ant was sent ahead," Troy said. "They are relaying a narrow beam transmission about what we can expect."

"So, we've sent scout ships back though the void already?" Nall asked.

"Well, the Colonial Bound has been in and out of the area now several times. In fact I think they've been though the void now a dozen times or so," Troy replied.

"What's Ares' plan?" Bri asked.

"Home," Troy replied. "We're heading straight to the colonies, then the Cylon homeworld."

Bri's eyebrow's rose, but didn't say anything. It would be a battle for sure.

BSGBSG

Pratt looked back at the President, Xai Chung, and wondered now what had happened. The President had been quiet since his last meeting with the Colonial council.

"I don't think I'm going to win," he finally said, causing Pratt to look over at him.

"Sir?" Pratt replied.

"Re-election, seems a senator Osla is winning, promising some hefty things," Xai said. "Of course me being all over the place, meeting with the council, the military and other things I haven't had much time to campaign."

"Ah, the people haven't seen you," Pratt replied.

"Yeah, so I'm getting hammered on some issues, and I'm never there that sort of thing. Caring more about aliens than my own people," Xai said.

"What a bunch of fracking felbercarb," Pratt said. "Don't you have time to counter his words?"

"No, the election is tomorrow," Xai said. "Oh well, if he wins, I don't envy his position. In a way, I think I'll be relieved to just retire and let Sam Harvey tell Olsa everything."

Pratt had to nod his head, but that meant one more wrinkle in everything. He hoped the new President wouldn't abort the missions already in progress. He didn't get that impression from Xai, but it seemed maybe Xai didn't pay enough attention to the home front. He guessed only time would tell.

BSGBSG

Ares glanced at the scanners locating the basestars. Two were in orbit close to the colonies. They would take those two out, then land at the colonies, perhaps someone survived.

"Commander, we're about reach detection range for the basestars," Troy said.

"Launch vipers," Ares said. He watched the screens as vipers launched preparing for the strike against the basestars. "Are we within scanning range of the planets?"

"No sir," Troy said.

Ares thought so, but it didn't matter.

"Commander, incoming message from the Fire Ant," Rebecca said.

Ares glanced at Troy before replying. "Troy, take over the battle for a sec, Rebecca, transfer the message up here."

He only had to wait a second before Renee's face appeared on the screen. "Commander, wanted to inform you of what we found. You were right, the Cylons are constructing another new class basestar."

Ares nodded his head. He had sent the Fire Ant to scout deep inside the Cylon Empire for any construction yards and what type of basestar they might be building.

"Any scans?" Ares asked.

"Tsk, of course," Renee replied. "I wouldn't be calling otherwise."

"Transfer the file here, I'll look it over after the battle," Ares said.

"Battle?"

"We're at the Colonies," Ares replied.

"Oh, sorry, didn't know, I'll let you get back to work then," Renee said.

"Look forward to the details then," Ares said, watching the screen go dark. He then refocused his attention back to the battle. He noticed the vipers had engaged the basestars and the battlestars were about in range with the Richelieu, Galactica and Pegasus waiting out of range.

BSGBSG

"The latest intelligence is most disturbing," Baltar heard Lucifer say.

"What is Lucifer," Baltar said, waiting for the reply.

"It appears our base near the Colonies is under attack," Lucifer said.

"So, Adama is getting closer," Baltar said. "Have my ship ready to head to the surface at a moment's notice."

"By your command," Lucifer said.

Baltar watched Lucifer walk out of the command room. The time to execute his plan fast approached and he did not want to miss out because he was waiting for his ship to be fueled.

BSGBSG

Ares watched the second basestar explode as the rest of the fleet approached. Phase two now would be underway.

"Okay, scan each planet for signs of a Cylon base," Ares said. He watched as Troy relayed the information to the fighter squadrons before asking for the general to come up to the bridge.

Ares sat down with Troy standing nearby.

"Well sir," Troy said. "I guess it's good to be home."

"Not quite how I imagined it though," Ares said.

"No, but still, it's home," Troy said.

Ares stopped any reply when the general appeared on the bridge.

"Commander, you wanted to speak to me," General Otto Roddan said.

"Ah, yes, gather your troops you're going to be landing, dont' know what to expect," Ares said.

"I see sir, any special instructions," Otto said.

"Just that people might be jittery," Ares said.

"Of course, it's to be expected," Otto replied.

"The moment you have the green light go," Ares said. "We're waiting back on reports of enemy fighters."

"Understood," Otto said.

Ares watched the general walk back off the bridge before Troy stopped him.

"General, commander, permission to go down with the ground crew," Troy said.

Ares felt slightly surprised but decided maybe Troy had a vision or something. "I'll allow it."

The general glanced at Troy then at Ares before agreeing as well.

"Troy, just don't make me regret this, I don't want to have Bri on my bad list," Ares said, smiling.

"You won't, besides, I get hurt she might kill me," Troy replied.

"Good luck," Ares said.

"Commander, report from green squadron, Caperica is clear, but cannot scan, seems some defenses are still working," Rebecca said.

"All right general, Caperica is first," Ares said. He turned as another communications came in, this one from Commander Adama. "Commander."

"Ares, I take it that you're sending down troops to Caperica," Adama said.

"Yes, they are clear for launch, is there a problem?" Ares said.

"No, just that many might not believe they are from Earth," Adama said.

"Hmm, good thing Colonel Troy went down with them," Ares said.

"Ah, makes me feel better than, I was going to suggest sending down Apollo and Starbuck as well," Adama said.

"Hmm, might not be a bad idea," Ares said. "Go ahead, I'll inform Troy of their joining the group."

Troy watched Adama sign off. He had grown so used to Earthers and Colonials working together he forgot at times that some might believe Earth as a legend, and think that they were Cylons, or a trick. He wondered what they would find on the planet's surface.

BSGBSG

Troy glanced towards the front looking though the shuttle's windows. The shuttle bumped around slightly entering the atmosphere but otherwise the pilot kept the shuttle very level.

"Land over there, we'll meet up with Apollo and Starbuck there," Troy said, indicating an area where two vipers were heading down to the planet's surface.

For the first time everyone got a good look as they broke through the clouds. Down on the planet's surface only the destruction remained. It appeared the Cylons didn't care at all to even bother building anything on the surface.

"It's worse than the invasion of Earth from the Arbus almost a decade ago," Otto said.

Troy had to agree with that. He had seen the devastation the Arbus had wrecked on Earth. This however went to another scale of destruction. Ruins were everywhere he could see.

"I hope those two know where they are going?" Otto said. "Anything on the scanners?"

"Negative, we're still getting massive amounts of jamming, either someone is deliberating jamming or it was never turned off," the pilot replied.

Troy glanced back at the group of ground troops in the shuttle. Packed with soldiers armed with no idea what they were to find. He felt slightly relieved when no shooting from the planet's surface occurred.

"Colonel, incoming message for you," the pilot said.

"Put it through," Troy said, wondering what Ares had forgotten to tell him. The voice that came over he recognized right away, and knew it wasn't Ares.

"What is this going down there where it might be dangerous without me?"

Troy glanced at the rest of the group who had gone silent at the female voice. He quickly grabbed the headset to prevent anything more embarrassing.

"Hey, it isn't much, just wanted to make sure someone from the Colonies was part of the group," Troy said, appeasing his wife.

"I'm supposed to believe that, you always want to be in the middle of everything," Bri said.

"I think you're jealous," Troy replied.

"No, I'm following you," Bri said.

Troy sighed, knowing that there would be no way he could stop her. "I suppose Nall is there as well?"

"Yep, right behind her," Nall answered. "It's interesting to not be the one she's mad at."

"Very funny," Troy said. "All right, follow the shuttles down."

"General, we'll be on the ground in five minutes," the pilot said.

"Very good," Otto replied.

Troy turned his attention back to the window wondering what they'd find on the ground.

BSGBSG

Two sets of eyes watched the group of craft fly overhead heading to touch down nearby. They glanced at each other and with silent agreement quickly and quietly made their way back to the tunnel. Taking a special path a short time later they reached a metal door.

The lead person drew a weapon and banged on the door two times, waited several heartbeats before repeating it. An answering knock which he answered with four quick rapid knocks.

The door creaked and groaned before finally opening.

"I have news!"

BSGBSG

Troy glanced at the ground around them. For the devastation that had happened nature had already begun reclaiming the soil. There wasn't much to indicate anyone had survived the attack.

"Form a perimeter, we don't want any surprises," Otto said. Troy watched the troops set up as Apollo and Starbuck approached him. He saw Bri and Nall's vipers landing knowing they would come over.

"Well, this is pleasant," Starbuck's said, his voice floating over to Troy.

"Should've seen it when everything was still burning," Apollo replied. "The survivors were not exactly patient."

Troy wondered what Apollo meant by that but decided not to press it.

"Do you really think someone could have survived?" Starbuck said. "After all, it's been almost two yehrens."

"I don't know Starbuck," Apollo replied.

"Well, that is why we're here," Troy replied, watching as Bri approached him. The general still proceeded to set up the perimeter in case Cylons were around. Of course, there was no telling what sort of welcome they'd receive.

"Report from the air recon sir," one of the privates said to the general. Troy made his way over to listen in. "Air reports what appears to be a new structure, and we think it's Cylon in construction."

"Okay, how far away," Otto replied.

"By ground, they'll be here in less than an hour."

"We can take the structure out," Starbuck said. "We have four vipers on hand."

"True, can you do it?"

"No problem," Bri stated.

"All right, no doubt they've already begun their trek here, so we'll prepare for ground combat, take that base out," Otto said to them.

"I guess you get off the hook for now," Bri said.

"I guess so, we've got things to do to get ready," Troy said.

BSGBSG

Troy waited hidden behind several rocks. The attack on the structure had worked, but the vipers had spotted a column of Centurions on their way. The vipers took a few passes then stopped to recon the remaining area for any similar structures. They did know the direction the Cylons were coming from.

A shout first alerted them to the fact the Cylons had arrived. Shortly afterwards the flint of metal caught his attention. Raising his blaster he opened fire along with the rest of the troops. Laser fire filled the air as the Cylons attacked their positions.

He heard the normal shouts as the general passed instructions to the rest of his team. Troy continued to fire making his shots count with good aim. He noticed a few men down and hoped they'd be all right.

He heard movement off to his right and turned, freezing at the sight. Instinct took over and he quickly dove taking both the intruder and him down. He felt the struggle but managed to keep the intruder still.

"Stay still if you want to live," Troy finally said, finally feeling the smaller body stop. A few moments later the general's voice rang out that everything was clear.

Troy slowly released his hold on the girl under him before standing up. He noticed wide brown eyes looking at him in slight wonder and confusion.

"Are you warriors?" she finally asked, her voice holding awe.

Troy felt slightly stunned at the question coming from a girl who appeared no more than five years old. Her face dirty and hair stringy from neglect of basic cleaning and Troy doubted she could adequately clean herself in this destruction. That begged the question if there were more. Then he realized that he had yet to answer her question.

"Yes, yes we are," Troy finally said, seeing the girl's eyes light up and a smile came to her face. "I'm Troy, I'm actually from Caperica, what's your name?"

"Theressa," the girl replied. "Are you here to help us? My mom said the warriors defended us, but they were no more, yet you're here, and you say your warriors."

Troy's mind listened patiently to the girls questions before she finally took a breath.

"Well Theressa, I'm from the Battlestar Argo," Troy replied.

"But only the Galactica survived, and it left," the girl said, her voice trailing off.

"The Galactica is with us, it's returned," Troy said. "And we have a lot of warriors now. Enough to defend you and your mom. Are there others?"

A slight sound caused Troy to glance up at the bushes. Another two people crept closer. Troy motioned to the general to continue their clean up. He didn't want to do anything to cause the newcomers fear. A young woman and older male finally stepped forward.

"Mommy, they are warriors, like the ones you talked about," Theressa said, excitement in her voice.

"Impossible, no warriors are left, at least no organized warriors," the male finally said.

"I'm from…"

"Yes, the Argo, I heard, but there is no Argo," the man said. "I know the Argo was destroyed, I lost my brother on it yahrens ago."

"True, but this Argo was on a special mission, constructed in secret by Commander Cain almost twelve yahrens ago," Troy said. "Our mission was to find Earth."

"Earth is a myth," the man finally said.

"Are you so sure," Troy heard Otto's voice say. "Because I know for a fact it isn't."

"Humph, don't listen, they must be Cylons," the man said.

"I'm from Earth," Otto said. "We are here to help."

Troy almost said more when four vipers landed close by. he felt slightly relieved to see that they all made it, and that it seemed no other bases had been sighted yet.

"Maybe they'll change your mind," Troy said, hoping either Apollo or Starbuck would be able to talk to them.

BSGBSG

Bri hopped out of her fighter quickly finding Troy. Shaking her head she started walking towards him.

"What's wrong," Nall asked. "I saw you shaking your head."

"Leave it to him to find any survivors," Bri said. She noticed the three people, a girl who appeared to be Mary's age, a young woman and an older male.

"I see you found some survivors?" Apollo's voice said.

"Yes, but they don't seem to believe me," Troy said. "Of course they never heard of the Argo or her mission."

Bri nodded with understanding. She wasn't sure she'd believe it either if she hadn't lived it.

"Well, the only battlestar to survive was the Galactica," the male said.

"And we've returned. I'm Captain Apollo, strike commander of the Galactica," Apollo said. "This is Lieutenant Starbuck."

"The Galactica left, we heard it, many of us didn't make it to the transports," the man said.

"Jonas, what if they are telling the truth," the woman finally said.

"Ariel, don't let your emotions fool you," Jonas said.

"What about if Commander Adama came down, would you meet with him?" Apollo said.

"Hmm, well, I guess, we can contact Diane, she lived close to his wife," Jonas said.

"She knew mother," Apollo said.

"Apollo is Adama's son," Bri said quickly seeing the confusion on Jonas' face.

"All right, we'll meet with him," Jonas said. "How long, we must be quick before the Cylons return with another basestar to reinforce the area."

"Twenty centons," Apollo asked.

"All right," Jonas said, before walking away.

"I don't think he'll believe us," Bri said.

"Don't mind him," Areil said. "He's been in charge of our safety for almost a yehren now. We can get some communications with the other colonies, but there are too few of us to do anything."

"So others survived, best news I've heard all day," Troy said.

"Is it true that the Cylons won't come back?" Areil asked.

"It's true, and this time, we're not stopping until they are defeated," Troy said. "We have an advantage now and we plan to use it."

"We've had so many close calls where we thought help had arrived. False sightings of warriors, and even of a battlestar but nothing ever came of it," Areil said.

"You know, this reminds me of what Commander Cain said, the Cylon Empire is about to fall," Starbuck said.

BSGBSG

Adama stepped out of the shuttle and onto his homeworld. It felt strange to him. Everywhere he looked signs of destruction were still evident, but the planet, it was recovering. Flowers were in bloom and new life seemed clear everywhere.

"General Otto," Adama said to the general who walked up.

"The survivors have given us a location, this way please," Otto said.

Adama walked down the path where Starbuck and Apollo were already waiting. He looked over to see a small group of people walking towards them. Their clothes were ragged and dirty showing the harsh conditions the people had lived under since the holocaust.

"It's you," one of the woman in the group said. Adama glanced up to look. It took him several seconds before he finally placed her, a neighbor of his Diane.

"It does look like Adama of the council," another man said.

"Jonas, be respectable for a few moments at least," Diane said.

"No, he is right," Adama said. "It's wise to be cautious. A lot has happened, and I never thought I'd be back here."

"That's a long story," Adama said. "But one I think we all can tell."

"They said there is another battlestar, the Argo?" the man called Jonas said, pointing to Troy.

"Yes, there are several battlestars with us, and that's only a portion of the fleet," Adama said, deciding not to give away vital information. He didn't know yet if he could trust them. "Like you I'm not sure we can trust you. You could have made a deal with the Cylons, like Baltar did."

"Those blasted tin cans, no way would we have made any such deal," Jonas said.

"You know that, but we don't. Telling you our fleet strength could be dangerous, just know we have enough to defend the colonies once more," Adama said.

Adama watched as Jonas appeared to argue again when the other man placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Enough Jonas, arguing won't bring anything back," he said. "Commander Adama, I'm Able, defunct leader of this group."

"And you've done a wonderful job," Adama said, before turning to Diane.

"You know," she said.

"That she's dead, yes," Adama replied. "I visited the house shortly after the attack. I knew."

"I tried to get her to come with us to the city, in a way I'm glad she didn't," Diane stated. "I'm still not sure if those who died were the lucky ones or not."

"Things change," Adama heard Troy say. "There's a saying on Earth, when a door is closed a window is opened."

"You were not here, families were killed, wiped out, and we wondered where the warriors were," Able said. "Then the death squads came, eliminating everyone who survived. Small packets survived, but not larger than a dozen or so in each area."

Adama always knew more people had survived than he had been able to pick up with the fleet. Of course, that hadn't been easy either, starving, always one step away from destruction.

"I think it's time to regain our homeworlds," Adama said. "We'd like the locations of all Cylons strongholds on the colony worlds, and then we'll take them out. Then as Cain said, next stop, the Cylon homeworld."

Continued in Civil War and Dockyards


	74. Chapter 74: Civil War and Dockyards

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Civil War and Dockyards**

Ares glanced down at the star chart knowing what was coming. The fleet had managed to take out Cylon basestars all over the place. The only real problem had been in the past two weeks the Cylons had started acting differently. The scout ships reporting less basestars away from the capital. The new basestar had been completed, a second basestar of the T3 class, the first destroyed on the other side of the void.

At the moment as he looked at the map he half listened to what Commander Gunther said, reporting on what the Warspite had encountered on its last patrol.

"the Cylons seem to be trying to retreat instead of fighting lately," he said. "At our last encounter, here, with two basestars," a spot lit up on the map, "one seemed to attack while the other retreated."

"They want to know why they can't see us," Adama said.

Ares nodded his head thinking the same thing. If their stealth advantage was negated it could turn the battle once more towards the Cylons. That was something he couldn't afford to have.

"What of our supplies?" Ares asked.

"Three supply ships arrived yesterday, we have enough at the moment," the supply chief replied.

"And the survivors on the planet?" Ares asked, he had read the report but wanted to know.

"There are actually more than we thought, they hid pretty well, but with the elimination of the Cylons they are slowly coming out and the word is spreading," Otto said.

"Good," Ares said. "Keep up guard though, some might not believe the rumors and attack."

"No problem there," Otto said. Several patrols had been attacked by survivors who thought the ground troops were human looking Cylons.

"We have word that the first of the T3s are ready," Ares said. "I think we should take it out and destroy the docks."

"That will take most of the fleet," Adama said.

"I know, we have reinforcements coming from Earth, the battlestar Bismarck, a new stealth battlestar," Ares said. He watched the people nod their heads. "Destroying the docks will limit their abilities to repair damage, and construct new ships."

"I have another idea as well," Tolan said, the commander of the Pegasus. "Cain always talked about what he'd do when attacking the Cylons, go after their mines."

Ares looked at the map again brining up the known locations of the mines. A few were actually close by. That brought a new thought to his mind.

"While we prepare for the assault on the dockyard I want the stealth ships to conduct raids on the mines, and convoys," Ares said, slightly modifying the plan. Cain had a good idea, limit already limited supplies and the docks starve. They can't repair ships, or construct new ones.

"You really want to attack the docks?" Adama asked.

"Yes, we have to make sure they can't out produce us, it's their one advantage and we have to take it away," Ares said. "The quicker we do that, the better our chances are for success."

"Okay, the Galactica will be ready," Adama said.

BSGBSG

Baltar sat on the chair waiting for reports.

"Enter," he said, watching as two IL series Cylons walked in followed by Lucifer and two gold centurions.

"By your command," they said.

"I take it my new orders are working?" Baltar asked.

"Yea, we now have more information about what is attacking our basestars, but the information still isn't clear," one IL series Cylon said.

"And the Imperious Leader?" Baltar asked.

"He still orders the basestar commanders the same way," Lucifer said.

"Insanity, pure insanity, but expected from a machine," Baltar said. "I think it's time I make my move."

"Support isn't quite there for you Baltar," another Cylon said.

"Anymore delays and the Empire will fall," Baltar said. "The next thing will be the dockyards, eliminating our abilities to create ships."

"The Improved basestar has been completed, and should be more than enough challenge to the battlestars," the Cylon replied.

"Yes, if they were fighting a normally designed battlestar, but it seems Adama has advanced battlestars as well," Baltar said. "No, we go ahead with the plan, gather what support you have, we go now."

BSGBSG

"Captain, I think you should see this," the scanner operator said to Scott.

He walked over the scanner watching it intently not sure either what was going on. Something strange was happening. Three basestars had suddenly returned to the Cylon capital and now a flurry of activity was going on. Shuttles and raiders were going to and from the planet's surface so rapidly it didn't make any sense.

"I think something's going on laddie," Scott said. The Colonial Bound had observed the Cylon capital now for almost a month and this was the first time he'd seen anything like this. Even when the fleet attacked the colonies a little over two weeks ago there wasn't any flurry of activity like this.

"Their firing on one another!"

Scott watched as several raiders engaged each other. He had no doubt in his mind what had happened. "Relay this information to the fleet, Cylons are engaged in a civil war."

The words surprised Scott himself at the fact that the Cylons would even consider fighting each other. He would have thought all the machines would have the same programming. At least the normal centurions, but the more he thought about it, he figured the commanders would have some sort of independent thinking for battle strategy.

"Should we back off for a moment?" his second in command asked.

"Nay, unless there's a threat of them there tin cans finding us," Scott said. "The lads will need all the info we be giving 'em."

"Yes sir."

BSGBSG

Ares watched as the door opened and Troy walked in making a bee line towards him.

"Commander, I think you all will want to hear this latest info," Troy said, activating the screen.

Ares leaned forward resting his elbows on the table waiting to hear what was so important. Judging by Troy's face, the info had to be good.

"It appears a battle has broken out at the Cylon capital. At the moment we don't know anything about the sides or who is winning, but it intensified a few minutes ago. It started with three basestars arriving at the capital rather quickly, then a rush of shuttles and raiders. Minutes later the firing began," Troy said.

Ares sat back slightly stunned at what he heard. He didn't think it would've been possible for such a thing. Glancing around he noticed the same look on the other faces around the table.

"Seems something is going on," Adama said.

"Then we should take advantage of this and attack the dockyard now," Gunther said.

"He's right," Tolan said. "It's to our advantage to not waste this opportunity."

Ares glanced around the table, Adama appeared cautious, but that was his nature, and over a yehren of having to protect the civilians he understood. However he had to agree, this would be the perfect time to strike.

"What ships are ready to move?" Ares asked, looking at Troy.

"Um, the Richelieu, Enterprise, Argo and Pegasus," Troy replied.

"Then the Galactica and Warspite will remain at the colonies, the rest of the fleet will go, we leave now, I suggest we all return to our ships, the battle plans will be made up on the way," Ares said getting up.

Everyone got up in a rush to quickly head back to their ships.

"Troy, tell the rest of the fleet, we move out now," Ares ordered. "General, I suggest you transfer to the Galactica for the moment. I don't think we're going to need ground troops at the moment."

"Understood commander," Otto said, then left rushing to catch up to Adama.

"I guess I should tell Bri to inform the pilots then," Troy said, when the last of the ship captains left the room.

"Probably, don't know what's going to happen next," Ares replied. "I wish I knew what was going on within the Cylon Empire that they are fighting each other. Never happened in all the time of the war."

"At least not that we know about," Troy replied.

"True," Ares replied. He knew it might have happened before, but with the inability to patrol so close to the Cylon home world they scarcely received such information. Now, he knew how far and back they had come. To the point of destruction, and now they stood on the threshold of victory. "We are encountering an unknown in this battle, the T3."

"We've managed several scans of this T3, seems like it's a blend Tartarus and Hades class basestars," Troy said.

"And that makes it dangerous," Ares said. "It will be the primary target in the beginning, followed by the dockyards."

"I'll let the rest of the fleet know," Troy said. "Should I send anyone down here?"

"No, let me know when all ships are ready to go," Ares said. He heard Troy answer before he left the roo leaving Ares by himself.

He glanced back down at the map looking right at the Cylon homeworld.

BSGBSG

Bri walked into the briefing room with Nall right behind her. Both of them were already confused by the emergency call by Troy. Taking a glance she noticed most of the pilots already sitting down in the room. Many looked towards her for some reason. She shrugged her shoulders standing at the front waiting for the rest of the group to walk in. They were followed by Troy who she hoped could explain the situation.

"Good, we're all here, not much time," Troy said. "At this moment the fleet is headed to sector sixteen, our mission, destroy the Cylon dockyard there along with the new T3 basestar."

Bri frowned, such a mission usually took longer to organize. She knew they were thinking about the mission, but to go now, it seemed very strange.

"I know some of you have heard some fast spreading rumors, so I'll clear everything up right now. We received word from our scouts that the Cylons appear to be in a civil war of some sort. Fighting was observed at the homeworld just a few minutes ago. Using this diversion command decided now is the best time to attack the dockyards constructing the T3s," Troy said.

Bri glanced out at the pilots gauging their reactions. So far they all appeared quite professional waiting for their missions.

"Intelligence does not know the positions or numbers of basestars in the dockyard or protecting it. However, the primary target in the beginning, the T3. It's considered the biggest threat to the mission," Troy said. "As a result, green and red squads from the Argo are to attack it right away, yes Bri."

"Do we have a plan then, everything seems quite rushed," Bri asked.

"Not really, we're going in guns blazing," Troy said.

"Great," one pilot said.

"Hold on," Bri said, forestalling anything. She looked over at Jax and Nall before continuing. "We have some time, and we know our target, somewhat. We can create an attack on the T3 basestar."

"You have about an hour and a half," Troy said.

"All right, pull up what we've got of the basestar, it's got to have a weakness," Bri stated. She waited as what was known appeared on the screen behind her. She had to admit, though, the info wasn't much. "All right, it's a combination of the Tartarus and Hades class, which means it's main anti-ship firepower is probably located here and here," she pointed to a couple of areas in the middle part of the ship. "And the anti-fighter turrets and hangers are on the top and bottom"

"Limited anti-ship firepower from top and bottom," Nall said.

"Hmm, get one of the battlestars to attack the top or bottom, we'll come in straight on and disable the anti-ship weapons," Bri said.

"Should work," Troy said, I'll run it though with a few of the other commanders, it'll probably be the Argo going in."

Bri nodded watching Troy head off to relay the information. Things would be hectic for the next hour or so while plans were drawn up on the fly. She glanced back at the photo of the T3 then back to her pilots. "Green squad will provide cover for red which will be loaded with extra missiles."

"Why not have us all armed instead," one pilot said.

"Because, chances are we will encounter raiders, and that will be green squad's responsibility. They will keep the raiders off your backs," Bri said.

She listened to the other pilots knowing that they would have to coordinate with the other battlestars as well. The attack would be interesting for sure.

BSGBSG

Scott watched the scanner looking for any indication that the fighting had stopped. An additional two basestars had arrived causing him to worry. He made sure to keep a constant eye behind him. Last thing he needed would be a basestar showing up behind him..

He had found it strange that the fighting limited itself to the raiders. The basestar refrained from firing upon each other. He had no idea what it meant, but the fact close to ten basestars now orbited the planet made him nervous.

"Looks like the fighting is diminishing," the scanner operator said.

"Yep, only ah wish ah knew who's winning," Scott said.

"I think we have something, a communications."

"Let's look laddie," Scott said, activating the screen. What appeared on the screen shocked him. He knew this information would have to be relayed at once to the fleet.

BSGBSG

Ares waited on the bridge knowing that he could have done more but the feeling to attack had been too hard to resist. He knew a lot of others didn't quite agree with his decision to attack, and had heard at least once that they should have waited until they had a better plan, or split the fleet up. He only knew that this was the correct path given to him by some sixth sense. Something he had relied upon for so long. That same sense had told him almost ten years ago to leave Earth and head to the meeting with the Arbus. That meeting had turned out to be an ambush.

Now that same sense told him to attack now, without hesitation. The arrow had been released and he only hoped it hit the mark. A quick look around and he wondered where the pre-battle tenseness had gone. Everyone seemed calm, collected, and under control. He realized that came from him. He had effected so many, he only hoped they all survived.

"Entering Cylon scanning range in fifteen minutes," Rebecca's voice said.

"Red alert," Ares said, waiting as the bridge was bathed in red light. It seemed a bit surreal considering everyone had been in combat status since leaving the colonies.

"Fleet reports red alert," Troy said. "Richelieu standing by."

"Launch all fighters," Ares said. "They are to engaged."

He turned watching the monitor. The vipers sped out the launch tubes. With each one he gave a silent prayer they'd return safely. This had been the only solidified part of the plan. The vipers covered in S-metal could close and engage before the fleet was discovered.

"Ten minutes until Cylon range, all vipers launched," Rebecca said.

"Once we're in range, the Richelieu will follow us full speed to the T3 basestar," Ares said.

He now had a picture of the dockyards defenses. Two basestars to go with the T3, and what appeared to be a half dozen older basestars that had been regulated to guard duty. He quickly watched as ships identified their targets.

"Five minutes," Rebecca's voice said. "Three minutes until viper squadrons engage."

Ares watched wishing silently that he had formed a better plan, or at least knew had more information about the defenses when he had drawn up the plan. Then he shook his head, he really didn't have a plan for this battle. The only real plan he had, send the vipers in first, and send the Richelieu to attack the T3 from above, otherwise, fire at will.

BSGBSG

Bri scanned quickly for any sign of Cylon raiders. She spied four different patrols of twelve raiders each.

"Nall, heading thirty six, by five," she said.

"Got it," Nall said. "We'll intercept them."

She looked at the path that red squadron would take and for anything that might interfere with it. She noticed a few other viper squadrons vectoring away to head to engage raiders. Each battlestar had one fighter squadron overloaded with missiles and the other for fighter defense. Each flight leader would try to coordinate with the others but they were spread out at the moment so she had little to do at the moment.

She vectored in along with green squad towards a group of Cylon raiders. Her wingmate right behind her.

"Target acquired," she heard Jax say. "Fire!"

"All fighters, open fire, fire at will," Bri said. She had one raider locked with an anti-fighter missile. Pressing the launch it sped away quickly closing the distance. Within a few seconds the Cylon raider exploded and she went on to engage the next raider.

Pulling back she looked at the scanner for anything that might be a threat. Red squadron had successfully engaged the T3 basestar and she noticed it already suffering damage to its anti-ship weapons. That would help out.

A few moments later raiders began flying out of the basestars.

"All right people, heads up, incoming raiders, say with your wingman and help each other out," Bri said.

She turned her viper and headed into the fray quickly destroying another two raiders.

BSGBSG

"Fighters have engaged commander," Troy said. He looked at the scanner hoping that Bri was safe. "The Cylons are heading this way."

"Open fire," he heard Ares say.

Troy motioned to the weapons officers and they began their work. The range was still in extreme range, but this would be a fight, not a delicate operation.

"Reports of damage to several basestars, and to the dockyard," Troy said. "The T3 is heading this way, showing heavy damage to its weapon systems."

"Good," Ares said.

Troy had wondered briefly why the Richelieu had been given the task of engaging the T3 when he remembered it was the most advanced. It also had an advanced armor and firepower compared to the other battlestars.

"Incoming raiders," Rebecca said.

"Defensive batteries," Ares said. He really didn't have much concern with the raiders, though they had destroyed the fleet at Cimtar. The difference here they had small destroyers that already were moving to engage the fighters with their heavy anti-fighter defenses.

"Enterprise is heading to the dockyard," Troy said. "Richelieu has engaged the T3."

"Good, engage the closest basestar," Ares ordered.

Troy picked out one of the Hades basestars to engage. The cruisers had engaged the older basestars which left the battlestars to engage the newer basestars. Incoming reports indicate the battle not going exactly like everyone had hoped.

"Incoming battle damage, the destroyers Sullivans and Leon have suffered damage, they request help," Troy said.

"Tell Hannover to cover them, it's the closest, we'll engage the target it was engaged with," Ares said.

Troy quickly relayed the information to the correct ships. So far the Argo had yet to be hit, but he figured that wouldn't last very long. He glanced at the monitors showing the battle then back to the scanners. The battle damage clearly indicated on the monitor.

"Richelieu is exchanging fire with the T3 basestar. So far the Richelieu appears to be winning," Troy said. "Two other basestars are heavily damaged."

Troy looked and noticed that the missile barrage appeared to have damaged several hangers the basestars. That would help the overall battle and give them an advantage.

The Argo rocked slightly indicating a hit to the ship. Troy waited for the damage report to filter in.

"Repair crews headed to deck seven, minor damage, no damage to weapon systems or hangers," Troy stated, a blip on the scanner caught his attention. "One older basestar destroyed."

BSGBSG

Bri turned her viper around again as green and red squadrons engaged with the Cylon raiders. She had so far destroyed a dozen raiders, and in the process saved Nall's ass once. She had noticed the battlestars had engaged the basestars and the slugging match had begun.

"New wave of raiders coming from the dockyard," Nall's voice said.

Bri looked down noticing the formation. Green squad was closest of the viper squadrons.

"Red squad, mop up here, green squad turn and engage," Bri said. She finished off the raider in front of her before heading to the newcomers.

"These are new raiders!" Nall said.

Bri glanced down seeing her warbook trying to identify the raider before finally making a new entry. She fired waiting to see what would happen. It dodged, slightly but still received a hit.

"They're a bit more maneuverable than the older raiders," Bri said. She engaged the raiders opening fire. Explosions occurred all around as both raiders and vipers exploded. Bri turned her concentration to destroying the raiders as quickly as possible.

"Seems like they caught up a bit," Nall said.

"Yeah, but we're still better than they are," Bri replied, destroying another improved raider.

"Looks like another basestar has been destroyed," Nall said.

BRi glanced down at the scanner indicating the ongoing battle. She could see that the Cylons were being destroyed. Now it only mattered in staying alive and completing the mission.

BSGBSG

Ares noticed the damage coming in from the other ships. His main concern had been the T3 and dockyard. He knew that both had been damaged.

"Basestar destroyed," Troy said.

"Target the dockyard, we need to destroy it now," Ares said.

He turned his attention back to the Richelieu which still engaged with the T3 basestar. The damage indicated the Richelieu appeared to be winning.

"We've lost the Sullivan's," Troy said.

Ares nodded knowing that the loss of the destroyer might hurt later on, but war losses were inevitable. His biggest concern was that they didn't lose any battlestars. That would hurt even more than the destroyer.

"Cruiser Hannover is reporting damage as well," Troy reported.

Ares mentally went over the type of cruiser it was, and realized that so far the ships being damaged the most were the non-stealth ships.

"Pegasus reports the basestar they were fighting destroyed."

Ares mentally concluded one Hades basestar, two older basestars had been destroyed so far. Now with the Argo pounding the dockyard and hopefully the T3 about to be destroyed he could call the mission successful.

"Green squadron reporting a new type of raider," Troy said.

That caught Ares' attention. A new raider probably meant for the new basestar. They had been beating the Cylons badly at the moment so it didn't surprise him of the new class of basestar or raiders.

"How are they doing?" Ares asked.

"Bri states they are holding their own. Seems the tin cans improved the maneuverability but nothing else," Troy said.

"Figures," Ares said. "Put the resources into improving the design, but it's like us developing a new viper and not training the pilot to be any better."

"I'm not complaining," Troy stated.

"I doubt anyone is," Ares said.

"Dockyard has been destroyed commander," Rebecca said.

Ares glanced down seeing that one part of the mission had been completed. The T3 seemed to be putting up quite a battle, but the damage appeared to be increasing quickly now. The main weapons of the Richelieu having found a weak spot in the basestar's armor.

"Getting internal explosions on the T3," Troy said.

"Once it's destroyed order the fleet to retreat," Ares stated.

"Retreat?" he heard Troy ask.

"Yes, we've taken damage as well, I want to escape with most of the fleet still intact. There's still a long road to go before this war is over," Ares said.

"Understood commander," Troy replied.

Ares didn't have to wait much longer before the T3 finally exploded. He heard Troy order the retreat.

"I'll be in my office, send all damage reports there," Ares said once the fleet had withdrawn from battle.

"Commander, incoming message from the Galactica, Commander Adama says it's urgent," Rebecca said.

"Put it though," Ares said, watching as Adama's face appeared on the screen. "Adama, is something wrong?"

"In a manner of speaking," Adama said. "Seems the Cylon civil war is over."

"Short, the dockyard has been destroyed," Ares said.

"Then at least that was successful," Adama said. "We know which side won."

"We know the sides?" Ares asked, not sure about that.

"Yep, we know who the new Imperious Leader is," Adama said.

Ares had a bad feeling when Adama hesitated before continuing.

"Baltar."

Continued in Preparations


	75. Chapter 75: Preparations

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Preparations**

Ares stared at Adama a bit in shock at what he'd been told.

"Baltar, the one who turned traitor to the humankind, the one who dogged the Galactica halfway to Earth. The same one who refused to engage in combat after the Argo and her fleet had arrived, that Baltar," Ares asked.

"Same one," Adama said.

"I'm slightly amazed they even allowed a human in the position of command, let alone enough Cylons followed him to lead a revolt against the current Imperious Leader," Ares said.

"I am too, but it does explain why they had that revolt," Adama said. "We'll have to be more cautious in our approach now."

"Yeah, with the Cylons we could anticipate their reactions," Ares said. "I expect Baltar has some idea as to the makeup of our fleet, and why they don't appears on the scanners."

"That's a good bet," Adama said. "I've increased the patrols around colonies and the patrol ships are working in large area making sure we know where the Cylon basestars are."

Ares nodded knowing that Baltar might already suspect the reason why the Cylons were losing the battles.

"Well, we'll decide what the next step is after the fleet gets back," Ares said.

"How did the battle go?" Adama asked.

"We lost the destroyer Sullivans," Ares said. "And several of the smaller ships were damaged, we'll have to work hard to undergo repairs. Are any the faculties around the colonies working at all?"

"No, none were operational when the Galactica left," Adama said.

"Well, we need to get those up and running right away," Ares said. "Especially when there are roughly a dozen or so basestars around their homeworld. We'll need every advantage we have to defeat them."

"I'll get some people on it and have a report when the rest of the fleet arrives back at the Colonies," Adama said.

"I'll see you in a bit then," Ares said.

He looked over at Troy who had heard the entire conversation.

"What do you think?" Ares asked.

"We've got our work cut out for us," Troy said.

"We really need to figure out how many basestars are left in the Cylon military, that would help out tremendously," Ares said.

"Well, the destruction of that dockyard and the T3 did hurt them," Troy answered.

"Yeah, and the destruction of a few other basestars always helps," Ares said. "I'll need a report of what cruisers are ready for raids along with destroyers, specifically the stealth ships. If we can continue to harass the supplies to the Cylons it will even out the playing field."

Already he knew he had to inform Earth of what had happened, a good thing communications now was much quicker. They had put up communications relays while on route to the Colonies. Communications was the least of Ares' worries.

BSGBSG

Troy walked into the rec room needing to unwind for a few minutes after the last couple of hours. Being the Colonel of a battlestar had a different set of rules. He'd been working even more since his promotion, but he also seemed to be able to get things done. He really was more like commander of the Argo, while Ares was fleet commander. He had a moment of relief now that the fleet had arrived back at the Colonies.

"There you are, thought for a second I was going to have to come up to the bridge," Bri's voice said.

Troy half smiled before flopping down next to his wife. "Ugh, command sucks sometimes. Too much paperwork."

"Hey, we've got paperwork as well," Nall replied.

"Yeah, but who do you think receives it, reviews it and write the condensed report for the commander," Troy said. "Though overall, we did pretty well, lost a dozen vipers, which was less than some of the other battlestars. And one destroyer, along with damage to two others, two cruisers, the Pegasus was damaged again, and the Richelieu took some damage. Her armor really held up well."

"I think we can take some credit for that," Nall said. "After all we're the ones who fired the first attack, damaging some of their weapon systems."

"Yeah, you did, probably saved several ships," Troy said. "The major mission was accomplished there, though I think Ares really wanted to destroy all the Cylon ships there."

"We needed a better plan for that," Bri replied.

"No time, he wanted to take advantage of the situation at the Cylon homeworld," Troy said, suddenly remembering what he heard on the bridge from Commander Adama. "We know who the new Imperious Leader is."

"I've heard some rumors," Bri said. "One is really far-fetched, they are saying Baltar is the new Imperious Leader, how bizarre."

"Well, truth is stranger than fiction," Troy said with a small shrug. "Besides, that rumor is the right one."

He watched two jaws drop in shock at his statement.

"Hey, I guess you just told them," a new voice said. Troy looked up to see Rebecca sit down next to Nall. "Close your mouth dear, someone might think you're drooling."

Troy suddenly started laughing at that statement, especially when she pushed Nall's chin up.

"Very funny," Nall finally said, recovering enough to speak again.

"It's true then, Baltar is the Imperious Leader? But, um, how?" Bri said.

"No idea," Troy said. "The only thing Ares and I could come up with is the Cylons are crumbling, their narrow programming is faltering somehow."

"Have they ever had a civil war?" Rebecca asked.

"Well, um, don't know. Surveillance on the homeworld was hard to come by," Nall finally said.

"It's possible they've done it before and we've never noticed," Troy said.

"So this behavior of overturning the leader when losing might be programmed in somehow," Rebecca said. "We don't know, and I doubt you've captured an Imperious Leader to study his programming."

"She's right," Bri said. "We know only so much about that, and most of that comes from the Centurions, and a few captured IL series Cylons."

"This stealth metal has allowed us a big advantage that much is for sure. We've never had the advantage of knowing where the Cylons were, how many ships they had, or even what they were doing behind their lines," Troy said.

"That's the truth," another voice said. Troy noticed Jax and Boomer standing there. The group moved slightly allowing them in.

"Thought you were on the Galactica?" Troy said, to Boomer.

"Was, volunteered to pilot the commander's shuttle over," Boomer said.

Troy didn't have to wonder why he volunteered. He knew it had to be because of Jax. The two of them had rekindled their relationship and it appeared to be going quite strong.

"How are Starbuck and Apollo?" Troy asked, hearing a laugh.

"Well, Cassie, Starbuck's girlfriend, is pushing for a sealing ceremony; Starbuck is being his normal self, afraid of commitment. As for Apollo, he's his normal self, and Sheba appears to making progress with Apollo. I think after Serina he thought he was unlucky in love," Boomer said.

"Hey, you talking about us," Starbuck's voice said.

"Yes, you're not here, so why not," Boomer said.

"Ha-ha," Starbuck said sitting down. "I'll have you know that Cassie and I are just fine, and no pressure from her for a sealing ceremony."

"So her dropping about a hundred hints yesterday wasn't pressure," Boomer said, laughing.

"No, pressure is when Athena starts asking when we're going to be sealed," Starbuck stated.

"So you are being pressured," Nall said. "Taking it from someone who is probably very much like you, it will change your life."

"I wouldn't say very much like you," Jax said. "After all, I never heard any stories about Starbuck wanting to do a threesome with both Athena and Cassie."

"All right, you win," Nall said. "I couldn't help it."

"And now you know better, at least if you know what's good for you," Rebecca said, causing Troy to laugh again.

BSGBSG

Baltar looked out on his new empire. He had done it, something he knew no one else would have ever imagined. A human taking over the Cylon Empire, and he finally had the power for revenge on Adama.

"Report Lucifer," Baltar said. He had kept Lucifer in the position of advisor to him, elevating the IL series Cylon's position in the empire.

"By your command Imperious Leader," Lucifer said. "All commanders have recognized you as Imperious Leader."

"And the dockyard?" Baltar said.

"Unfortunately it was destroyed in the battle, along with the new improved basestar," Lucifer said.

"They knew, somehow they knew we were occupied," Baltar said. "What about the other dockyards?"

"All are operating as normal, though they are further away from the mines," Lucifer replied.

"Increase the patrols along the mine routes, that will be their next target," Baltar said.

"Are you sure, they might come after the other dockyards," Lucifer said.

"No, the dockyards are useless if there's no material," Baltar said.

"A wise decision, but leaving such facilities operational is logically dangerous," Lucifer said.

"And that's why I'm the Imperious Leader," Baltar replied. "What of the attack, anything unusual?"

"Reports are one battlestar took on the improved basestar and defeated it," Baltar said.

"It wasn't cloaked or anything like that?" Baltar asked.

"No."

"Interesting, what are you planning Adama," Baltar said. "Leave me, I have to think."

"By your command Imperious Leader," Lucifer said, bowing before leaving.

BSGBSG

Ares glanced around the group of commanders who listened in to the damage done to the fleet in the last battle. Even President Chin, along with the President-elect, Osla, a beady-eyed bald man who Ares hadn't met yet listened in on the conversation.

"The loss of the Sullivans doesn't affect our abilities that much," Ares said to the group.

"It may not affect that, but it does affect those families who lives were lost," Osla said.

"Senator Osla, what do you expect us to do, wave little flags and tell them to deactivate themselves," Ares said.

"Surely with this new, what did you call it, um, Imperious Leader, he might be willing to talk now," Osla said.

Ares opened his mouth to speak, but Commander Adama spoke up first with anger in his voice.

"That new leader betrayed twelve worlds to the Cylon senator," Adama said. "He will not negotiate in good faith. As far as the people from the Colonies are concerned he's responsible for billions of lives lost."

"Senator, the Cylons are not like any enemy you've ever faced," Ares said. "They will use any trick to win, from human shields, to bribes, to false promises. The only thing they care about is winning, they have no rules."

"Impossible, all sentient life follows some rules, even the Arbus did," Olsa said.

"They are machines, who only want to win sir," another voice said who Ares recognized as Uri. "We've been deceived by them twice now, there will be no peace as you know. There are only winners and losers. The Cylons have already eliminated several other intelligent races though force and trickery, they don't care."

"I just don't want any more loss of life, it's time to end it," Olsa said. "I don't see why we had to rush to this war without more information."

"Sir," General Otto said speaking up for the first time in a council meeting. "With due respect, are you that dense. The Cylons were already at the halfway point. We'd be fighting them right now anyways, and fighting a defensive war against such a group is a larger waste of lives and resources."

"Senator, if we don't beat them now, we'll be at war with them for a long time. The quicker we strike, the more likely it is we will win the war," Adama said. "I know the responsibility of lives, and how even one life lost is a huge loss. When you have less than a hundred thousand people, and an enemy following you, you understand things better."

Ares noticed Olsa had gone silent, thinking. Ares hoped the man understood soon, and wondered silently what had been promised to get the election. He seemed quite clueless in dealing with Cylons, surely he had read the reports as a senator about what had gone on.

"All right, the third fleet is on the way, but it does leave us a bit defenseless," Chin said.

"Good, the more badly damaged ships will start back when they are fit for travel," Ares said.

"The Skartians have a few ships they wish to send as well," Chin said.

"We'll welcome the support, any word from the Galactic Alliance?" Ares asked.

"Only petitions and such, we're keeping it a secret about how big our fleet is, but if they learn how much of our fleet is away, it could damage the process," Chin said.

"If that happens, then you can tell them the Cylons have roughly twelve basestars, and another twenty older ships at the moment. If we don't defeat them now, by the time they arrive in Earth space their fleet will have doubled, with improved ships. They won't stand a chance," Ares said.

"T-that many?" Olsa said.

"Yes senator, that many," Ares said.

"Oh, um, well that, um, makes things very, um, different," Olsa said. "And they could, um, double you said."

"Easily, now we're hitting their supply routes, making it difficult for them to build new ships and repair damage ships," Ares said.

"Senator, I know you ran your election on the fact that the current President, Chin, is never on Earth. The simple fact is forces in the universe sometimes make demands on people, in this case you're going to be running around all the time, between Earth and the bases, and maybe even the colonies," Uri said. "It's not going to be an easy position."

Ares noticed the man paled slightly at the knowledge. Ares had the feeling Olsa never read his security reports, and now he hoped the man's oversight didn't lead Earth down a false path.

BSGBSG

Commander Gunther watched as the Enterprise slowly approached the target. The patrol had located a nearby group of Cylon ships patrolling the convoy route.

"Six tankers," his scanner operator said.

"Good, launch vipers, that's their targets, hit and run," Gunther said.

"Yes sir."

He watched as the vipers were launched to head into battle. He hoped they could destroy the supply ships quickly. It would be their second attack within the week. In the first attack they had destroyed three ships, along with an old Cylon destroyer and squad of raiders.

"Incoming message from the patrol, one Hades basestar headed this way."

"Inform all vipers to launch missiles at extreme range and return, we're not getting into this fight," Gunther said. He didn't think the Enterprise couldn't take on the basestar, he wanted to avoid that for the Warspite and Richelieu which were the hunters of the basestars. The Enterprise along with several of the stealth cruisers were in charge of destroying supply ships.

"Viper squadrons returning."

Gunther waited patiently glancing at the scanner. The missiles struck true, destroying three of the four tankers. The destroyer escorting the convoy also was damaged along with the older basestar. He watched a group of raiders launched, heading in the wrong direction.

"Basestar changing course."

Already the recovery of vipers was occurring. If it hadn't been for the incoming basestar he would have pressed the attack, but he had orders to avoid conflict, and damage.

"Once all vipers are back aboard, we'll head here then return to the convoy route," Gunther said.

"Yes sir."

BSGBSG

"Report Lucifer," Baltar said.

"It is as you said, they are attacking the supply ships, and doing a good job Baltar," Lucifer said.

"I don't want excuses Lucifer, how many ships?" Baltar asked.

"Our losses so far are eleven tankers, two damaged, two escort ships, three more damaged, and we've lost two basestars in attacks," Lucifer said.

"Those invisible ships, they are ruining us, any word on why our scanner's can't see them?" Baltar said.

"An inspection of wreckage from the dockyard has provided something useful Baltar," Lucifer said. "It appears that they Colonials are using a form of metal that absorbs scans preventing all but high powered scans."

"How far away can we see them?" Baltar asked, finally getting some answers.

"That's the problem Baltar, our scanners are geared for low power, to prevent detection, however, if the colonial ships are producing a higher power scans to see each other, we can us that to our advantage," Lucifer said.

"Put it into effect then," Baltar said.

"By your command Baltar," Lucifer said.

BSGBSG

"Incoming message from the scout crew on the dockyard," Rebecca said.

Troy hesitated for a second before deciding to take the call himself. It took only a second before he saw the lieutenant's face on the screen.

"Colonel, Commander Ares wanted to know the condition of the dockyard here," he said.

"Yes," Troy said, remembering the conversation not long ago.

"Well, we've completed our scouting, and we can one dockyard up and operational within the day. Seems Jonas was a dockyard hand on vacation so he wasn't on it when the attack occurred. He's been a great help in getting the systems on-line," the lieutenant said.

"So we have one operational bay, which one?" Troy asked.

"Bay three, it's not the biggest, but it can fit a cruiser, or two destroyers," the reply came.

"All right, is Jonas there?" Troy asked.

"Not at the moment, I can get him though."

"Go ahead, I have a question for him," Troy stated. The lieutenant ended the call to find Jonas while Troy quickly placed a call to the supply ships. It didn't take long before the captain of the ship answered.

"Colonel, what can I do for you today?" the captain asked.

"Just a few questions, how many skilled dockworkers do you have on board?" Troy asked, forming a plan already.

"Hmm, well, we have about thirty, but the supply fleet has well over six hundred, most are on the repair ship Vestal," the captain said.

"Well, we have an operational dockyard, or at least one bay, I suspect your men would prefer to work there instead of from the ship," Troy said.

"So one of the docks is operational?" the man said. "I know we sent some men over there but I hadn't heard back yet."

"They contacted me not long ago, I wanted to get your approval for this, after all it's your field," Troy said.

"Well, I appreciate that colonel," the captain said. "Let me contact my team and see what they think and I'll give you my report then."

"Fair enough," Troy said, ending that call only to have Jonas' call come in. The man had changed slightly from the first time he met him. He seemed younger, more relaxed and willing to talk. Troy guessed that if he had been in Jonas' position he'd have done the same things.

"Ah, Colonel Troy, what can I do for you?" he asked.

"I received the update on the dockyard, and wanted your professional opinion," Troy said.

"My opinion, all we lack is personal," Jonas said.

"I think that can be taken care of," Troy replied, already knowing where the people were going to come from. "How many would you need?"

"Well, with only one dock open, anymore than one hundred and fifty would be too much," Jonas said.

"Hmm, I don't know about that many, but I can get you some crew workers. We have about six hundred, and I know the commander will want the Vestal to remain operational. But the dockyard is a top priority as well," Troy said.

"I think we can do with less, one fifty is the max, but less than seventy-five will be ineffective," Jonas said.

"All right, I'll work to get you at least seventy-five, I think that should work out," Troy said. "Also Commander Ares wanted to place you in charge of the dockyard, seeing as you're the highest ranking worker left."

Troy noticed a bit of surprise on the man's face. He hadn't been expecting that bit of news. Troy waited patiently for the man's reply.

"If you want me, I'll take it. Guess I know a bit more about responsibility now than a few yehrens ago," Jonas said. "Never really wanted it, actually looked forward to building deep space explorers that were planned after the peace treaty."

"You might still get that chance one day," Troy said.

"Perhaps," Jonas said.

"Colonel, I have Captain White requesting to talk to you," Rebecca said.

"Put it though, I'll be back in touch Jonas," Troy said. He ended that conversation and switched communications bringing up the captain.

"Colonel, I just finished talking with the boys, and everything looks good. The one dock is stable and with a bit of patchwork that should take at most a day it will be operational," Captain White said. "Also I think we can get about eighty men to work over there."

"That would be enough, I just finished talking with Jonas, who will be the dockyard captain and he says between seventy-five and one fifty," Troy said.

"One fifty would be stretching it," White said.

"Those numbers were the max and mins," Troy replied.

"Ah, then that's doable," White said.

"Okay, you're first ship will be the Leopard, let the captain know when he can dock. After that Commander Ares talked about servicing the destroyers," Troy said.

"Yes, we talked about that. I'll get things going right away," White said.

Troy ended that conversation and glanced over the rest of the progress on the Argo making sure everything ran smoothly. Not seeing anything he stood before excusing himself to report to the Commander's office. He knew that Commander Ares would want to know this bit of information.=

BSGBSG

Ares gathered up the reports that came in. So far in the past week things were looking up. So far the raiders had destroyed over a dozen tankers, two old basestars, several destroyers and the hunter group had eliminated two basestars. The odds were slowly being whittled down to their favor. He also knew things were getting harder, as Baltar seemed to be consolidating his position and changing his tactics.

It seemed strange to him to think of the enemy leader now as a human. That changed his mindset slightly as the narrow-mindedness of the Cylons had been replaced. Now the game would be more of a chess match that he had played a few times back on Earth. Perhaps he'd buy a chess set one day after this war was over and he retired. He glanced back at the reports which he noted the change in tactics.

The Richelieu almost had run into an ambush, with a basestar near a planet, which held an additional three squadrons of Cylon raiders. A patrol of the planet had discovered it before the battlestar had engaged, and broke off before battle could start.

That had been close, the loss of a battlestar would hurt their efforts greatly. The Pegasus finally was back in fighting trim after round the clock repairs to it. Two destroyers and a cruiser had been sent back to Earth for more complete repairs. He glanced up as Troy walked into the office.

"Report of the dockyards," Troy said, handing Ares the paper. Ares read though it quickly. It seemed that a few of the survivors had helped out in getting one dockyard operational. With the additional personal from the last supply he had an advanced repair base operational for the war.

"Good news," Ares said.

"Yep, we put the Leopard in it, should be done in a couple of days," Troy said. "After that the destroyers are going to be put in for repairs. We have a tentative schedule of a week for it all."

"I don't think the reinforcements will arrive in time," Ares finally said.

"Sir?"

"We're heading to a final battle, the last battle," Ares said. "Whoever wins will win the war."

Ares noticed Troy had gone silent for several seconds.

"What's wrong?" Ares asked.

"Um, nothing much commander," Troy said.

"All right," Ares said. He watched Troy walk back out of the office before thinking about it. "Now why would he be acting that way?" he asked himself.

He read the reports a bit more before his mind provided him the answer.

"Well, that's what it is, well then, so be it."

Continued in And So It Begins


	76. Chapter 76: And So It Begins

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**And So It Begins**

Ares walked into the war room on the Argo glancing at the dots which represented the Cylon fleet and the Earth fleet. He briefly thought that if the Colonials had this type of information during the war it might have gone differently, or at least the holocaust might have been prevented. He realized that also meant competent commanders got that information as well.

"This report just in commander," Troy said. Ares took the information wondering if it might clear the picture up slightly.

"Hmm, Baltar is sending more basestars retreating back into the core of Cylon territory," Ares said.

"We've managed to decrypt the latest messages to the outer part of the Cylon empire," Troy said. "Seems all warships are being recalled."

"We're that much of a threat it seems," Ares said, feeling both better and yet it disturbed him that so much firepower had been gathered by Baltar. He probably had some sort of plan, now it was Ares' turn to figure it out.

"The Enterprise is on track to engage the latest convoy, but there is a couple of small basestars nearby," Troy said. "Should the commander continue to engage?"

"Yes, reports from their dockyards indicate construction has been brought to a halt," Ares said. "Tell Richelieu to head to intercept that group."

"Okay, anything else?" Troy asked.

Ares glanced at where his battlestars were. Richelieu was close to Enterprise, Argo, Galactica and Pegasus were at the Colonies and the Warspite was in position to engage a group of small warships headed towards the Cylon homeworld. Scattered around were the cruisers doing hit and run raids all over causing damage to everything from Cylon cities to their fleet.

"No, rotate the Leopard and Moscow, they need a break," Ares said.

"I'll inform them."

"Oh, have the scout ships keep their patrol rounds, they are doing a good job. The standing order remains, avoid combat and contact if possible," Ares said.

The patrol ships had given him most of his information, and good information it had been. They had kept track of the Cylon fleet's movements enough to allow him to plan ahead to the next strike. However now, he had a feeling events were about to move in a different direction.

"What I wouldn't wish for a spy in the Cylon Empire right now," Ares said.

"Well, one thing I've learned about Baltar is he's a coward," Adama's voice said interrupting Ares' train of thought. "He retreated when he had numbers against us at Gamoray, and if he thinks he has the advantage he'll use it, only after securing his safety."

Ares thought about that for a few seconds before realizing what he was seeing. "Everything's headed to the Cylon homeworld."

He stood there looking at the map before Adama spoke up. "Possible. Also seems like something he'd do."

"He's playing defense, still trying to figure out what he's up against," Ares said. It confirmed one thing for him, he had the Cylons on the defensive. Now he had to use that knowledge to form an attack plan.

"Seems like it," Adama said.

"Troy, tell all units to hold after they've completed their current missions. New orders will be coming in shortly," Ares said.

BSGBSG

Baltar watched Lucifer walk into the throne room on his basestar. He had returned there feeling more secure around those who he knew were loyal to him.

"Report Lucifer," Baltar said.

"By your command Imperious Leader," Lucifer replied. "Reports still come in on attacks on the supply ships. Our dockyards have no supplies for new construction. They can barely do repairs now."

"Damn, are the warships staying with the supply ships?" Baltar asked.

"We are having some difficulty in convincing the commanders to do that," Lucifer said.

"It's not something to be discussed, it's an order, tell them either they either go along with it, or they are replaced for scrap," Baltar said.

"By your command," Lucifer said, hesitating.

"What is it Lucifer?"

"The fleet moves to our homeworld, several ships have been destroyed in the process though. There are also reports of several outlying cities being destroyed by Colonial ships. The outer governors are worried about this. The moving the fleet back leaves them vulnerable," Lucifer said.

"Tell the governors that if the ships were there they'd have been destroyed. No, they will attack here, where the power is. That's when we'll crush them once and for all," Baltar said.

"Are you sure Baltar," Lucifer asked.

"Of course I am, and remember who I am," Baltar said. "In smaller numbers our fleet has been devastated, now with the largest collection of Cylon ships in yehrens we finally have an advantage. Have the patrols picked up anything?"

"No, except for some odd spikes but that only occurred before battle, so it's not a way to track where they are," Lucifer said. "But that's only for the ships we can't see. We know they have at least one other battlestar besides the Galactica. It's the most powerful battestar we've ever come across. It seems to have an advanced armor as well that we can't penetrate."

Baltar sat back at that news. Now he wished he had an Improved Basestar, but that had been destroyed along with the dockyard not long ago.

"I want all scout ships to patrol at maximum range. If anything suspicious comes in report it that might be the information we need to destroy Adama once and for all," Baltar said.

"By your command," Lucifer said, then walked out of the room. Baltar thought about what had gone on and tried to figure out where Adama had received such a tremendous advantage. That question had bugged him since the appearance of the new ships. He had patrolled the nearby planets with no luck. It seemed that everything he thought of, or tried failed to produce an answer to that question.

A new thought entered his mind, perhaps this group was a group warriors, who found a high tech planet after being damaged in battle. Given a long enough time, they could have built a force this large. He would dig though the records of the Cylons to see if any fleet had managed to escape destruction.

BSGBSG

Nall glanced over at Bri who appeared slightly tired, not normal for her he thought.

"You all right?" Nall asked.

"Fine, guess I'm still getting used to Troy's schedule lately," Bri said.

"Yeah, I could see that, he's a lot more erratic now that's he a colonel," Nall said. "I'll never make it there."

"Yeah, they'd slap in the bridge for harassment," Bri said, with a chuckle.

"That's be after Rebecca get's though with me," Nall replied.

"True, she does keep your leash short," Bri said.

Nall opened his mouth before closing it realizing that Bri was right. Not that he minded at all. He'd found the one of his dreams and who understood him.

"Hear from Mary?" Bri asked.

"Yeah, Troy's parents are lifesavers. I think they're spoiling her too much," Nall said. "She told me about how they watched the construction of a nearby house. Every evening Troy's dad and her would go though it to see what changed. She's started classes, kindergarten, and so far she likes her teacher. That's good news."

"Funny how time flies," Bri said.

"Yeah," Nall replied.

"Hey, have you heard the latest?" Jax's voice said, as she sat down next to them.

"Nope, but I guess you're going to tell us," Nall replied.

"Seems Ares has stopped all missions lately," she said.

Nall frowned at that statement. "Sounds like he's got a new plan."

"Yeah," Bri said, suddenly going quiet, glancing around the room.

"Now what?" Nall said.

"Just looking around, Troy's vision still hasn't come true yet," Bri said.

"What vision," Nall asked. He hadn't heard anything of importance lately.

"No, we've kept it a secret, but he's seen the destruction of the Argo," Bri said.

"The Argo? Is he sure, I mean he's seen other visions, the Pegasus, Pacifica, is he sure it's the Argo," Nall replied, concerned over Rebecca suddenly.

"Ares orders everyone to abandon ship," Bri said.

"Anything else?" Nall asked, wanting to know more.

"Well, he has one vision of most of us, your there along with Rebecca, and me and Troy, I don't know about you Jax," Bri said.

"Eh," she said, shrugging her shoulders. Nall could see her try and be calm about it, but her face gave her away.

"Well, you might have been somewhere else, so I don't know," Bri said adding it quickly.

"Nah, you're too good," Nall said. "I think we'll all make it. Anyways, it could be some time from now, it might not even be a battle."

He waited for Bri to say something, but she remained silent. He hoped she thought about it, but from her face he knew the answer already.

"I suppose you're right, no sense thinking about it when it could be years from now," she finally said.

"I heard that the Cylons have consolidated their strength around their homeworld," Jax finally said.

"Hmm, seems like Baltar is scared," Nall finally said. "Doesn't know what's hitting him, or the fact we know what he's up to."

"It's a good situation then," Jax said. "We have the advantage, something I don't ever remember having. I hope we continue to the end of the war."

"I think that's the plan," Bri said. "I can't imagine the commander stopping halfway, or Adama allowing that to happen either. Too much has happened for us to stop now."

Nall realized Bri was right. They would end the war, finally after a thousand yehrens of war, it might finally be over.

BSGBSG

The Colonial Bound continued watching the Cylon homeworld for anything that might be unusual. So far the ship hadn't encountered anything strange, only the continued arrivals of ships.

"Well, the latest ship puts the Cylon fleet at eight Hades basestars, about two dozen smaller basestars, and about the same number of destroyers," his second in command said.

"Aye, that there are laddie," Scott said. He didn't like that at all, and the fact that not all the ships were there yet. The only thing Scott felt relieved about had to be the fact the Cylons had all their ships in one place.

"Patrol coming around," the scanner operator said.

"Pull us back then lad, we'll keep an eye on the patrol and return when they leave," Scott said. A general game they were playing with the Cylons. The one advantage they had, the Cylons kept a regular schedule for their patrols.

"Any word from the Fire Ant?" Scott asked.

"No."

"Prepare for a transmission back to the fleet then, we'll report in what little we've found out," Scott said. The only good thing about the patrol, it allowed them to report in quite regularly when they moved position.

BSGBSG

Gunther waited on the bridge of the Enterprise. The battlestar had finished another attack on a convoy destroying all the ships this time.

"Orders commander?" his second in command, Yvette asked.

"Back to position alpha," Gunther said. The position where the scanners could watch several supply routes at once. A couple of times a Cylon ship would be stationed there but lately there hadn't been anything. That worried him more than the easy attacks on the supply ships.

Then he also had to wait for the next mission from fleet command. He had the feeling something was up, but had no idea as to what.

"Any news from Commander Ares?" Gunther asked.

"Not yet commander," Yvette replied. "Any idea what's going on?"

Gunther seriously thought about the question knowing most of the bridge crew could listen in on the conversation.

"Not really, a few ideas and it has to do with the fact the Cylons are consolidating their forces in one area," Gunther said. "Beyond that I have no idea."

"Could be raids, to lure their fleet out?" Yvette said.

"Could be, but knowing Ares it'll be something either complex or very simple," Gunther replied.

"Yeah, simple, going in guns blazing," Yvette said

"I wouldn't put it past him," Gunther said. True he had the same thought, but he also knew Ares wouldn't go in just like that. The attack on the shipyard had been slightly different. Ares knew that the Cylons were gathering their forces for a while now, and the fact the Richelieu had done two such attacks already with no movement from the Cylons meant they were up to something as well.

"What were our losses?" Gunther asked, hoping for few losses.

"We lost four vipers, two more damaged, but the repair crews state they will be back up and running in a few hours," Yvette replied.

"Well, better than expected," Gunther said. He didn't like the loss of live, but he had the replacements on board and still had a full complement of fighters. Now they would wait.

BSGBSG

"Commander, Enterprise and Richelieu are done with their missions," Troy stated, relaying the message to Ares. He watched the commander nod at the information. He still appeared deep in thought.

"When will the last of the basestars arrive at the Cylon homeworld?" Ares asked.

Troy looked at his screen which had that information before replying. "Another day sir."

He watched Ares get up and walk over to the map staring at it for several seconds. Troy almost saw the light go on in Ares eyes, his entire appearance changed slightly and Troy knew that Ares had made his decision. Now everyone would wait to see what would happen next.

"Assemble all commanders in the war room, and inform the Richelieu and Enterprise, they'll have to link in," Ares said. "I'll be in the war room waiting."

Troy nodded before turning to Rebecca who started sending out the communications to the battlestars. He glanced once more back at Ares who strode off the bridge.

"Hey good looking," another voice said. Troy turned to see Bri approaching him. She had a smile on her face.

"Thought you were in the rec room relaxing with the others," Troy said.

"Was, but it gets boring in there without you," Bri said.

"I guess Nall's not enough company for you then," Troy replied.

"Nah, he is, but he's not my husband," Bri stated. "We haven't seen enough of each other lately."

"Things have been hectic on the bridge," Troy replied, knowing that he really should spend a bit more time with her. But looking at her she appeared quite healthy, and even more beautiful than usual. Shaking his head he refocused his attention back to what she said.

"So, what's the next mission?" she asked.

"Don't know, but Ares called a war council with all the commanders," Troy replied.

"He's got a plan," Bri said.

"Looks like it, now we'll wait to hear it," Troy said. He hoped it wasn't what he thought it was, what he and Ares had discussed a short time ago. The scene of Ares calling for the evacuation of the ship, and the other vision, the one on the hangar deck, he couldn't figure what they were doing, either celebrating or sorrow. Whatever the cause, he knew he'd find out soon enough.

BSGBSG

"We've done it!" Tommy said with excitement and with good cause. All around him whoops of joy sounded at their success. He had found the mathematics on board the Orion, after looking at the strange engine alignment. He added a bit of several old Earth theories he had finally managed to do it.

"Sir, should we contact Commander Pratt?" Sally, his red-haired assistant asked.

"By Kobal yes, he'll want to know," Tommy said, walking to the communications screen. A few seconds later the bald commander's face appeared on the screen.

"Tommy, I assume you have news?" Pratt asked.

"You bet I do," Tommy said. "It works, it really does work. We just did it."

"Oookaaaay," Pratt said, drawing out the word. "Um, I haven't been keeping up with the reports from the Colonies things have been quite busy around here."

"Oh, we jumped!" Tommy explained.

"Jumped?"

"Yes, it's where you actually bend space, thought you're really not, the entire space is flexible, forever bending and folding…"

"Doctor, just tell me what you're saying?" Pratt said.

"Oh, sorry, well, we can control it, the bending and folding space as we want, we just did it."

"And, remember I haven't been reading the reports Tommy," Pratt said.

"Right, sorry, excited, we can use it to move ships from here to anywhere in the universe in mere seconds to hours depending on a few factors," Tommy said. He watched as Pratt opened and closed his mouth for several seconds in his shock.

"Are you saying we can use this to transport ships, people and supplies to the colonies in less than a day?" Pratt said.

"Yep, though the test engine wasn't that big, we're going to test it on the Orion, it seems like they were already working on it, and it's almost complete. Such a device would have given them a huge advantage over the Arbus," Tommy said. "However it was actually an Earth scientist, Einstein who, though a bit flawed, ironed out a bit of the mathematics I needed."

"How long would this take?" Pratt asked.

"Dunno, a couple of days, or months depends on how the engine goes," Tommy said.

"I'm giving you first priority, anything you need, get it working, we can use that," Pratt said.

"Okay," Tommy said, not expecting such a reaction.

"I also want a report on how quickly we can refit the fleet with such engines," Pratt said.

"Ah, there's a problem there, it's not so much modifying the engines, but adding another engine. You see it's separate from the regular engine. It takes both to do this, the time the trip takes depends on how fast the propulsion engine is," Tommy said.

"Could we use this to send other ships with it?" Pratt asked.

"No, the field is too localized for that," Tommy said.

"Okay, but the Orion is almost ready, I want the test as soon as possible, If need be take one the dock at yard one, I'll inform the dock commander you get first priority, twenty-four seven work, got me," Pratt said.

"Okay," Tommy said, ending the conversation. He then turned to the rest of his 'crew', mostly scientists and techs. The Orion had become a science ship in the past couple of years and had been Tommy's lab as well, in a way his command. Now he had orders to finish the engine. "I guess you all heard this, lets head for the dockyard and get working."

BSGBSG

Sam Harvey sat back in the meeting room, the transition between the two Presidents had just occurred and he sat watching it along with many of the other advisers.

"Wonder if he'll keep us on or not?" one said.

"If he's half as smart as many think he is, he will," Sam said. "But I'm not counting on it."

"Incoming message," one said, sighing as the screen flickered over to Commander Pratt. Sam noticed he had a look on his face of almost joy, or something very close to it.

"Commander, what's the news?" Sam asked. He didn't know anything else that would require their attention.

"Thought I'd give you an update to a couple of things, both at the colonies, and in research," Pratt said.

"Something new in research?" Sam asked.

"Yep, Doctor Leaver is testing a new jump engine which would make the trip to the colonies less than a day," Pratt said.

Sam sat up at that news. Such speed was thought to be impossible. Now he was being told it was being tested. "Are you sure?"

"Yep, the Orion will be undergoing testing in the next day or so," Pratt said.

"Incredible," Sam replied.

"But, I fear by the time we put them on our warships it will be too late. Commander Ares informed me that he's going into battle against the main forces of the Cylons," Pratt said.

"We've heard nothing," Sam stated. Knowing that such a mission would endanger a lot of the warships already there.

"He's there, and he wants to attack before Baltar gets his plan working," Pratt said.

Sam looked at the others to gage their reactions. Most had worked with Ares before and now, it seemed they respected the man's decisions. "Can't say I'm pleased with the decision, but he's there with the information."

"I thought you'd say something like that, it's about how I feel," Pratt said. "Say, why are you not outside with the inauguration?"

"Too cold, and we were not invited," Sam said.

"He's keep you on, right?" Pratt asked.

"Haven't heard yet, but keeping our options open," Sam said.

"Well, you've been on board this since the beginning, so hopefully you'll be there at the end," Pratt said. "I'll let you know about the test results."

"All right," Sam said, sitting back thinking back to that day so long ago. His assistant, Rebecca worked for him in the old NASA, or what had been left of it. Then they saw a picture of a viper, of course they didn't know what it was, but it changed their lives. Then they met the pilots, or more importantly Rebecca had, and brought them to him.

Aside from being one of the first people to work with Commander Ares. Since then he'd also been a senator, and President for a short time of the new government. A shiver went down his spine with that realization that he'd be known in history. That of course understood that humans survived the war against the Cylons.

BSGBSG

Ares watched as the commanders of the battlestars entered the room. The tall blonde Tolen, imposing Adama, and finally the commander of the Warspite, Kim, a new commander. She had recently taken over when the previous commander needed surgery for cancer, and was now back in route to Earth space. He noticed the links with the other two battlestars had been established as well. Everyone had arrived.

"Thank you all for coming, I've got a plan I wish to share with you all," Ares said, bringing up the map of space. "As many of you know, Baltar is consolidating his forces. Now we still hold an advantage, and we know where the Cylon fleet is. This presents an opportunity we've never had before as I feel Baltar has made a tremendous error in judgment."

"You want to attack," Tolen said. "I take you've taken into account the number of fighters on the planet's surface?"

"I figure at least one basestar of fighters, more like three maybe four," Ares said.

"That's a lot of fighters," Gunther said.

"I know, but with careful scanning and a diversion we can cut down the numbers. Also all fighters would attack the hangars first. Our pilots are still better than those tin cans by a margin of ten to one," Ares said.

"True, the combined fighters of the Pegasus and Galactica took on the equivalent of four basestars, destroying two basestars," Adama said.

"I don't suggest the same tactic again," Tolen said, smiling slightly.

"No, but we have an advantage with the s-metal, and we will use it," Ares said, knowing that it would place the Enterprise and Argo most at risk. "The fleet won't be coming in all at once either."

"What are you planning," Kim asked.

"Well, three groups, the Argo and Enterprise will make up group one, Pegasus and Galactica group two, and Warspite and Richelieu the battle group," Ares said.

"Three groups, I take it each has a specific task?" Adama said.

"Yes, each group does," Ares said. He quickly went over the plan working the details with the commanders waiting for their reactions.

"Well, it's risky, I like it," Tolen said. "I'm in for sure, and I know Commander Cain would approve."

"It is risky, failure is a big possibility," Adama said. "But I also have to agree that we might not have a chance like this again."

Ares nodded as the rest of the group expressed caution, but agreed with the plan. "Then inform all ships to stock up, we leave to our starting positions once everything's ready."

The group got up and walked out of the room leaving Ares alone to look at the map. He heard the door open, and glanced up to see Bri walk in.

"Just the person I wanted to see," Ares said.

"Me too, I have something to tell you," Bri said. Ares noticed a mixture of sadness and joy in her face.

Continued in D-Day


	77. Chapter 77: D-Day

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**D-Day**

Nall walked towards the war room where he knew Bri had gone to talk to Commander Ares. He had talked with Troy about Bri and they both agreed that she had acted slightly strange lately. He didn't want to say anything, but Troy had noticed it a bit as well. They had decided it might have a lot to do with the fact that they were entering a big battle, and what might be the last large battle between the Cylons and humanity.

He stopped short at the loud voices coming from the war room.

"Are you crazy?" he heard Ares' voice.

"No, I'm not, but you can't ground me!" Bri's voice said.

"I should have you thrown off the ship for even suggesting this!"

Nall's eyebrows rose at that. He never heard Ares sound mad, especially towards one of the old crew members.

"Ares, you need my skills, especially for this battle, we both know it, and I will survive, we know. I wanted to let you know, not to ground me, but well, for your blessing," Nall heard Bri's voice trail off losing its anger.

Nall waited several seconds waiting for Ares' answer.

"You know you don't need my blessing for that, I'm happy, really," Ares said.

"Then allow me this as well, we both know my leadership is needed out there."

"I know, but this does change some things. After this battle, you will accept grounding then."

"I'll do it myself," Bri said.

"All right, against and with my better judgment, I must be crazy."

"Thank you."

Nall decided that he would make his presence known walking into the room. He expected to see the two of them at odds, instead, Bri was hugging Ares, who had a strange look of calmness and, joy? Not what he expected to see at all.

"Nall, good, we don't have to go looking for you, get the pilots together, we have a debriefing to do," Bri stated, untangling herself from Ares.

"I need inform the rest of the fleet, I'll leave the fighters of the Argo to you," Ares said, walking out of the room.

Nall waited a few seconds before saying anything. "Everything all right?"

"Yep, things are looking up," Bri said, with a smile.

"You want to tell me what all that was about?" Nall asked.

"A personal question," Bri said.

"You've never kept anything from me before Bri, it's not bad, you're not dying or anything. We've noticed you acting a bit strangely lately," Nall said.

"What, no, nothing like that, um, I can't tell you yet, but I will, after this battle, I promise," Bri stated. "Come on, we've got a group of pilots to debrief."

Nall stood there for a few seconds not sure if he should feel hurt or not by Bri's actions. Taking a breath he'd live though this battle to learn what Bri's secret was.

BSGBSG

The Argo and Enterprise arrived at the meeting point right on time. They had received word that the rest of the fleet had arrived in their positions as well. It had taken several days for the positioning of the fleet. But finally they were ready.

Troy glanced over at Ares who had been in a strange mood lately. Even Nall and Bri were acting differently. Troy could only think the pressure of the upcoming battle had a lot to do with it. Ares even had spent time with them at dinner last night.

It consisted mostly of the original crew members from the Argo. Even those who now served on the Enterprise had come over. Ares had proclaimed it a gathering that should have been done more often.

Troy had been amazed that so many of them had done so much. A few were no longer in the military, one retiring after the Arbus war, others having been injured and forced to retire. Jax, Nall and Bri had remained pilots and he learned many of the other original green and red squadron pilots were now leaders of squadrons in the fleet.

Troy looked back at how much fun they had had. The capping of the meal had been Boomer asking Jax to join with him. Troy could remember his own sealing with Bri, on the way to Earth. He felt happy for Jax and Boomer.

"All hands, red alert," Rebecca's voice said, cutting Troy off his musings. He watched the Argo go to battlestations. "All vipers prepare to launch."

Troy glanced back at Ares who stood and firm conviction on his face. Troy understood, he'd allow nothing but victory in this battle.

"Five, four, three, two..."

BSGBSG

"One!"

"Launch!"

For a brief second, everything went fuzzy then cleared.

"Report." A few seconds ticked by before the reply came back.

"We did it, we're at Centari One," the report came back.

"YES!" Tommy said, jumping up and down a bit. He glanced around at the excited faces around him. They had made a successful jump from Earth to the base in less than a minute, even faster than he expected. "Let Earth command know the jump went successfully."

"Prepare the ship for rejump back to Earth," Tommy said. They now had a few successful jumps and he wanted a few more with the Orion.

If this technology had been available during the war things might have been very different. Tommy let his mind wonder slightly at that thought before his assistant brought him out of it.

"The engines will require an hour or so to cool down, but no damage," she said.

"Good," Tommy said. The next stop back would be Earth.

BSGBSG

Baltar sat on board his flagship of the Cylon Empire. So far things had not been going smoothly. Of course it also didn't help that there was still some resistance to his being Imperious Leader. He had managed to get a loyal group of Cylons and from there consolidated his power.

"Any word on new reports Lucifer?" Baltar asked.

"No Baltar," Lucifer replied. "I find it most puzzling that we have not heard from them in two days now?"

"Yes, it is puzzling, and it means trouble," Baltar said, resting his chin in his hand.

"Then it puzzles even you?" Lucifer said. "Our intelligence suggests that the fleet we're up against isn't as strong as we think it is. And that they are far from home and are in need of resupply which explains their constant attacks on our shipping. It is very much like what Commander Cain did at Gamoray."

"Yes it does, but there are at least three or four battlestars out there wrecking havoc on my empire," Baltar said. "And I've heard nothing about any of them being destroyed, have you Lucifer?"

"No Baltar, I have not. It is a puzzle to us," Lucifer said.

Baltar started to reply when a gold-plated centurion entered the room.

"By your command," it said.

"Speak," Baltar ordered, waiting to hear what it had to say.

"Specter has reported an increase in Colonial communications back at the Colonies Imperious Leader," the centurion said.

Baltar sat back thinking about that for a few seconds. The new communications had yet to be broken, which worried him. Increased communications he figured meant only one thing.

"Alert all commands, prepare for a strike," Baltar said.

"And where is this strike going to be?" Lucifer asked.

"What's the closest shipyard or mine to the Colonies?" Baltar asked.

"Our XL-7 shipyard and the ore mine on Yelloc 2," Lucifer said.

"Then alert those two command, and any convoys in the area, they are closest to the Colonies. The increase in communications must mean they are about to strike," Baltar said.

"But there was no increase when they attacked our largest dockyard not long ago," Lucifer said.

"Are you sure, we were busy with a civil war at the time, remember Lucifer," Baltar said, then turned to the Centurion. "Is there anything else?"

"We've picked up more communications around homeworld as well," the centurion said.

"Why wasn't I informed of this first, alert all basestars to increase patrols, they might be attacking here," Baltar said. "Do it now!"

"By your command," the Centurion said, turning around leaving the room.

"Is that necessary Baltar, with the amount of firepower assemble here it would be foolish of the human fleet to attack," Lucifer said.

"Which is exactly why they would, it's something you wouldn't do because the odds are not in your favor, or so you think," Baltar said. "Yes, we're the target."

BSGBSG

Bri accelerated out of the launch tube and quietly watched the squadrons form up. The pilots tried to use hand signals more than anything else. The less the Cylons knew about an upcoming attack the more the advantage held for the warriors.

Green and red squadrons now in formation headed towards the Cylon warships. Enterprise's squadrons formed up beside them leading the spearhead into the battle. She hoped that the squadrons from the other four battestars were on time with the attack. Glancing at the time it indicated another two minutes before they'd open fire.

She noticed a patrol approaching them, and motioned for a group of vipers from red squadron to intercept. She looked at the time hoping they could wait another minute before destroying the patrol. The vipers were told to line up behind the Cylon patrol and wait for the signal, then open fire. She lined up her target, one of the basestar's hangers and would launch one missile there, and a second at the alternate target, an anti-ship weapon on the same ship. Her computer indicated it had acquired both targets, waiting for her to press the trigger and launch the missiles.

Bri waited as the seconds ticked away before finally she could use the communicator. She spared one more glance on her scanner to the areas where the Argo and Enterprise were. Already barely visible on the scanner. She returned her attention back to her task at hand.

Her wingman next to her waiting for her move. He had instructions to follow her no matter what. She wondered briefly how much Troy had talked with him. She felt sure Commander Ares probably did if she knew him as well as she thought. It really didn't matter, and it would be her last battle, though no one else knew that except Ares.

Returning her attention back to the battle she watched the final seconds tick by.

"All vipers, fire!" she said, pressing down on the trigger launching the first missile. She switched targets then launched the second missile.

She saw the faint glow of the engines as both missiles streaked to their trails quickly lost among the other missiles all heading to different targets.

BSGBSG

Ares stood on the bridge watching the range come down. The Argo and Enterprise were the only ships with the s-metal and could approach so close. The other battlestars would close in quickly as well. In this battle even the scout ships would engage.

"Thirty seconds," Troy's voice said.

Ares looked up knowing that everyone had been synced to the same time to attack.

"Target locked on commander."

"Positive shield now commander."

Ares watched the shielding come down over the viewport on the bridge. The Argo now entered battle, for what Ares hoped was the last time against the Cylons in a war which had gone on way too long.

"All batteries, open fire!" Troy said.

Ares watched the scanners and screens for the information coming in. The Argo had begun the engagement and now he remained calm listening to the reports. He heard the details of the first strike by the missiles, the damage caused to the Cylon basestars. He also expected the Cylons to return fire very quickly.

Behind the Argo the Enterprise also engaged, and he hoped the rest of the fleet had begun their approach. Either way the next few minutes would be the worst for the Argo and Enterprise. The Cylons outnumbered his fleet but everyone was used to that. No, the biggest difference, the first shot and how much damage they inflicted upon the hangers.

"Prepare remaining Solimite missiles," Ares said. The toggles for the massive missiles were thrown preparing the attack. The Argo bore down on the Cylon homeworld ready for battle.

BSGBSG

Baltar pulled himself into a standing position after being thrown from his chair. The alert sounded on board the basestar causing him to wonder if he had acted too late.

"Lucifer report!"

"By your command Baltar. It seems that the Colonial fleet is attacking," Lucifer said.

"Tell me something I don't already know Lucifer, what are their numbers, where are they attacking from?" Baltar said, anger tinting his words.

"I'm afraid that they didn't show up on our scanners, and there was no increase in detectable scanner emissions," Lucifer said.

"Our patrols showed nothing?" Baltar asked.

"Obviously not Baltar," Lucifer said. "What is the course of action?"

"Launch raiders, destroy anything not Cylon," Baltar said, returning to his chair faltering slightly as the basestar took another hit.

"By your command," Lucifer said.

Baltar watched Lucifer relay the orders and received word that two of five hangers had been damaged along with several weapon systems. He made note that the engines were unaffected and most of the weapons were still operational. The loss of two of the hangers put a hamper on launching the raiders not that it mattered in the long run. They'd still launch just take a bit longer.

BSGBSG

"Positive shield now," Adama said watching the shield come down on the bridge viewport. The bridge bathed in red had been a familiar sight to Adama over the yehrens. Maybe he wouldn't see it for a long time after this, or so he hoped.

"Approaching firing range," Tigh said to Adama. Even now Adama could see the mess of Cylon ships in chaos trying to identify their attackers. "Pegasus is ready to fire as well."

"Open fire the moment we're in range," Adama said, he didn't want to waste time relaying any more orders. Every micron in firing range the Galactica didn't fire was a micron the Cylons could attack him.

On the screens he watched the batteries of the Galactica open fire. He felt a bit shocked when the Cylons didn't return fire right away. He understood that wouldn't last long. The Galactica didn't have the stealth metal the Earth ships had. As a result the Galactica and Pegasus were more likely to be spotted. Even the Richelieu had a slightly modified design to minimize scanner contact despite not having the s-metal.

"Commander," Adama heard Tolan's voice say. "We have only two basestars in our sector, the Pegaus will take the one in sector eight."

Adama glanced at the scanner. True enough they had only two, several smaller ships which the cruisers and destroyers could take care of. He also noticed that Tolen had taken the right basestar, as it was closer to the Pegasus.

"Understood, we have the other one," Adama said.

He ordered a slight turn to engage the basestar.

"Incoming raiders," Tigh said. "Blue squadron is engaging."

Adama nodded hoping that his warriors would destroy the raiders.

BSGBSG

"Come on Starbuck, let's go," Apollo said over the communicator. He had spotted the squadron of Cylon raiders forming up and deduced they would head for the Galactica or Pegasus. His squadron was the closest one there.

"I know, you think I came all this way to see my baseship destroyed here and now," Starbuck said. "Besides, Cassie would kill me if I allowed that to happen."

Apollo chuckled slightly launching another missile before switching over to lasers. His squadron had finally received the viper eights, and in experienced hands were very deadly.

He spared a brief thought to Sheba and Bojay who were even better than he was. Apollo lined up another raider, pressed the trigger and watched it explode. This close in the stealth effect of the vipers disappeared not that it mattered, the maneuverability surpassed anything the Cylons had.

"Anyone want to hear about my latest pyramid plan?" Apollo heard Starbuck say.

"No," the voice of Jolly said. "I'm trying to stay alive here."

Apollo shook his head at the timing Starbuck seemed to have. Of course he never knew anything to really stop Starbuck from planning a new scheme.

Apollo lined up another raider watching it explode again.

"Blue leader, be advised new raiders are approaching your position," Rigel's voice said.

"Blue leader copy," Apollo said quickly relaying the information to the rest of the group. He hoped that they could defeat this group quickly before the new arrivals could swing the tide of battle.

"Looks like you could use some help," another voice said who he recognized as Sheba.

"A bit," Apollo said. "Can you engage the group coming in."

"Silver spar squadron already engaging," Sheba replied.

"Thanks, stay safe," Apollo said.

"You too hotshot," Sheba replied.

BSGBSG

Troy kept an eye on the scanner making sure that nothing went unnoticed that had the chance of surprising them. He didn't need some unseen basestar slip behind them to attack a weak spot on the battlestar.

"Damage to several basestars, minimal damage to our fleet at the moment," Rebecca's voice said.

Troy understood that to be good news even though a lot could still happen in the fight. Taking a glance he spotted Bri's on the scanner taking out another raider, her seventh of the battle. He knew she was just warming up in this fight. He then noticed movement in the Cylon warships.

"Commander, Cylon ship, escort class moving closer towards us, probably trying to locate us," Troy said.

"Concentrate fire on it," Ares said.

"We have missile lock on one basestar commander," Troy heard one the weapons officer say.

Troy thought for sure that Ares would order the missiles fired and his hand hovered over the trigger which would be needed to launch the missile.

"Standby, I don't want to waste those shots," Ares answered.

Troy understood, though the missiles were fast and could destroy a Cylon basestar, the further away they were fired, the more time it gave the Cylons to intercept it. It had been a painful lesson learned on the battlefield by the Colonials. A surprise attack had been foiled by the destruction of the missiles and the ambush had failed. Now the missiles were used as short range weapons.

The Argo's main weapons had changed to the smaller Cylon escort which appeared to be closing in. Troy knew the Cylon ship would prove to be no match for the Argo's weapons. He quickly kept up with the reports coming in from all over the battle.

"Richelieu and Warspite have engaged," Troy said. "Several basestars have broken towards the two battlestars."

Troy glanced down once more at the scanner noticing something slightly odd about the formations. Only one basestar didn't appear to be heading into battle, but instead maneuvering to a point where it was out of the line of fire. He decided that he'd keep an eye on the ship in case it started to move.

The Argo rocked slightly from another hit and he waited for the damage report, slight damage to decks ten and eleven aft. Nothing critical hit and the Argo continued into the battle. Troy decided to send repair crews, but only until something more critical appeared.

"Escort ship destroyed," Troy said, noticing the scanner indicate the destruction.

"Target the Cylon basestar again, and fire," Ares said.

The main lasers of the Argo once more shifted targets to the closest basestar which had begun to move in the direction of the Pegasus. Troy concluded this was logical, as the Cylons would attack what they could see, not what they couldn't see. Troy did see the basestar stop after receiving fire from the Argo. For a brief second it hesitated.

"Fire one missile," Ares said.

Troy pressed the trigger which would launch the missile. He assumed Ares had seen the same thing he had. The missile streaked away from the Argo towards the Cylon basestar. In seconds it had covered the distance impacting on the basestar exploding against its armor.

"Heavy damage indicated to the basestar," Troy said.

"Helm, change course by thirty degrees," Ares stated.

The battlestar quickly changed course leaving the position where it had fired the missile in case the Cylons had managed to track the path.

"Power levels on the basestar are dropping, it's crippled," Troy said.

"Good, change target, have the Leopard finish that basestar off," Ares said.

Troy heard Rebecca relay the orders even as he lined up the next closest basestar. He took another glance at the remaining basestars. One crippled by Argo, and another seven currently engaged, allowing four to be unengaged. Of those four, one appeared to be purposely hiding from battle. He'd wait and see about that basestar, though he had an idea about it.

BSGBSG

Commander Pratt sat in his office along with his second in command, Eric, listening to the battle. Due to the huge advances in technology the lag was less than a minute. He glanced at his desk where the latest report from Doctor Leaver and the test of the Orion lay all but forgotten.

"Scratch one small basestar," he heard the report come in.

Eric stood and walked over to the board, scratching off a number then wrote a new number.

"Still a lot left," Eric said.

"Yep," Pratt said. He wished he could be there, in the battle but he had other duties to worry about.

He knew that the numbers that Eric posted was transmitted all over the ship. Pratt also had the feeling that if anything was being done at all, it was a small miracle. Many on board had friends or d ones on that fleet.

"Savanaha, pull back, we'll cover for you," he heard another voice. It seemed one of the destroyers was in trouble. A static reply came back then silence.

"Savanaha destroyed."

Pratt exhaled knowing they had lost a ship now.

"Scratch one basestar."

Pratt felt slightly more relieved, now the fleet only faced eleven basestars.

"Commander," Jackie's voice said.

"Go ahead," Pratt said, turning his attention to her. He had left her in charge on the bridge and wondered what had happened.

"The President just landed," she said.

Pratt frowned glancing at Eric who shrugged his shoulders. Neither of them knew about a visit from the new president.

"Send him to my office, I'll be here," Pratt said.

"Understood commander," Jackie said, signing off.

"You're not going down to meet him?" Eric said.

"And miss possibly the most important battle in human history," Pratt replied. "I think not."

He heard Eric chuckle slightly at that. Pratt had to agree, that blowing off the President like this could be a major faux pa, but at the moment, he just didn't care. This battle could determine the future of Earth and the Colonies. A few more brief updates came though that they could easily make out. The communications was set up to come from the Argo. A few times he heard Commander Ares' voice, but mostly it was either Rebecca, or Troy's voice.

"It's going to be one hell of a battle," Eric said.

"That it is," Pratt said. In a strange way he felt like he was listening to a football game over the radio. A sport he had come to actually like.

The door opened and the President walked into the office. Pratt stood up to greet him.

"Sir, welcome aboard," Pratt said.

"I see, I'm so welcome that I don't even rate a greeting on the hangar by you," President Osla said.

"Sir, you came aboard without advanced warning and there is something quite important going on," Pratt replied.

"I thought maintaining a sense of respect was part of that order commander. Surely whatever it is can't wait the five minutes it would take to greet me," Osla said.

"Sir, in five minutes, everything could change," Pratt replied.

"Another older basestar," Eric said, updating the numbers.

"What's that?" Olsa asked.

"That is what's more important, a battle halfway across the galaxy that could end the war against the Cylons forever," Pratt said.

"We've lost the Hornet," Pratt heard Troy's voice say.

Pratt sank back down watching Eric scratch off the cruiser's name.

"Are you saying we're listening to this battle right now?" Olsa said.

"There is a slight time delay, but yes, we just lost the cruiser Hornet, and several hundred good men and women," Pratt said. He needed to say no more. Everything to say was already said. All he could do was listen to the fight.

Continued in The Final Battle


	78. Chapter 78: The Final Battle

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**The Final Battle**

Ares glanced at the scanner once more. His forces were engaged in a battle not seen in yahrens in this sector of space. He would have to look at the history logs for a long time before he found such a battle. Now with the majority of Cylon forces engaged with Colonial and Earth forces the tide of the war could suddenly shift in ways no one could have expected.

"Commander, Leopard is heavily outgunned in sector seven," Troy said.

Ares looked at the scanner before answering. "Can Galactica's blue squadron help out?"

"I'll ask," Troy said. Ares waited the few seconds before the answer came back. "They are on their way now commander."

"Inform the Leopard's captain," Ares said.

Ares calculated the distances to the next basestar. The scanners indicated it had suffered damage in many places, probably one of the ones hit heavily in the missile barrage. Now he felt certain the time had come to use another missile.

"Fire the second missile at current target," Ares ordered. He waited a few seconds as Troy executed the order and turned to the screens. He watched the missile streak out of the missile tube headed towards the target. He focused his attention back on the scanner watching the missile quickly cover the distance before impacting on the basestar.

"Basestar hit," Troy's voice said.

Damage lit up on the basestar from the missile's impact. Ares knew from experience the damage sustained had been more than it could take. Even though it took only a few seconds for the basestar's engines to explode Ares felt he watched a slow motion build up of power before the final explosion.

"Scratch another basestar," Troy said.

Ares knew Troy had relayed that back to Earth. He turned his attention back to the scanners to find the leader, Baltar.

BSGBSG

"Report Lucifer," Baltar said. His basestar had not been hit that badly, but he waited to see how the battle was going.

"We've lost two basestars, and now seven other smaller ships," Lucifer said.

"And their losses?" Baltar said, hoping to hear good news.

"We have destroyed one gunstar, and two smaller ships," Lucifer said.

"Three ships to nine, we must do better Lucifer," Baltar said.

"The vipers are proving most difficult for our raiders to engage successfully Baltar," Lucfer replied.

"How many battlestars have engaged so far?" Baltar asked.

"We count four, but there could be as many as eight based on rough estimates of vipers," Lucifer said.

"Eight battlestars, and we either can't see four or they are keeping them in reserve," Baltar said.

"It would be the wise decision," Lucifer said. "Wait for our forces to expend supplies and fuel before engaging."

"Yes, or they are throwing everything they have in a one hope to destroy us," Baltar said.

"That would be a dangerous situation though, lose and you might lose the war," Lucifer said.

"No more than what my predecessor tried at the Colonies, with my help of course. If I had double crossed him we'd have had the Cylons at our mercy," Baltar said.

"Of course Baltar," Lucifer said.

"And no one said humans make the logical choice, at least not in war and still win," Baltar said.

"Of course, I've learned humans are quite flexible in their decisions," Lucifer said. "I await your orders then."

"Prepare to pull back," Baltar said.

"Are you sure?" Lucifer said.

"Yes, we are still at a disadvantage with their vipers," Baltar replied. "Until we cancel that, we are at their mercy."

"And the fleet?"

"After we have begun to pull away, order the rest of the fleet to pull away as well," Baltar said.

"And the homeworld?" Lucifer said.

"It will take quite a bit of force to destroy the capital, and the battle damage we inflict will ensure it remains until we return," Baltar said.

"I will prepare our retreat then," Lucifer said.

BSGBSG

Bri blinked slightly having been looking at the basestar when it exploded. She mentally shook her head knowing better than that. She brought her viper around destroying another raider.

"Thanks, didn't see him," Nall's voice said.

"Yeah, well better stay focused then, otherwise Becca will kill you for sure," Bri replied.

"You too, otherwise I'm sure Troy won't be too happy," Nall's replied back to her.

"No, he wouldn't," Bri answered, not saying anything else but concentrated on the next raider. She had her own reasons for staying alive today, and nothing would interrupt that. "Still with me back there?" she asked her wingman.

"Still here, though I haven't fired anything since the opening shot," he replied.

"Not all battles are going to be that easy," Bri stated. She looked down noticing that red squadron was about to be hit with more raiders. "Green seven, eleven form up with me."

She waited until the two joined her then went to help out Jax and her squad with the latest newcomers.

BSGBSG

Gunther continued to listen to the reports coming in from all over his ship. So far they had yet to receive any major damage, he didn't dismiss the fact his ship could receive damage. Even with the s-metal he had to be alert to everything.

"Another basestar heading towards the Galactica," his second in command said.

Gunther glanced down noticing the situation as well. The Galactica currently was engaged against one basestar, a second could be too much for the old Colonial warship.

"Disengage current target and re-engage the basestar heading towards the Galactica," Gunther said. He knew that such a tactic could be dangerous to his ship, but two on one was better than three on one.

"Yes sir."

He watched on the screen the shifting dots that represented the ships. In seconds the Enterprise had engaged the other basestar.

"Sir, Delta squad coming aboard to rearm," his flight controller said.

Gunther nodded relying on his crew's abilities to rearm the s quickly even in the middle of the battle. Even though delta squad actually was from the Warspite, they were the closest battlestar to the squadron.

He noticed that his squadron was now closer to the Galactica than his battlestar. Such procedures were fairly common during the war. No wasting time with flying back to your battlestar eating up precious time and fuel during a battle. This saved time and fuel for everyone involved, though a transfer of fuel might be needed afterwards.

"The Argo is headed towards two basestars."

Gunther wondered exactly what Commander Ares was thinking.

"Richelieu reporting another basestar destroyed."

Gunther felt better about that. Looking down he noticed that now three basestars had been destroyed. The Galactica the only battlestar engaged against two, the Pegasus was engaged with several smaller warships helping out several cruisers, and the rest of the battlestars engaged one basestar except for the Argo which was heading towards two. That left one which appeared to be acting strangely. The basestar appeared to be strangely enough closer to the Argo and Enterprise than the other four battlestars.

Gunther turned his attention back to his ship, feeling it rock from a hit and waited for the report of damage. He hoped it was nothing major.

BSGBSG

Adama glanced around as the damage on the Galactica mounted. The two basestars had been undamaged entering the duel with the Galactica. Another hit rocked the ship as a new report of damage came in, this one not good.

"Sir, engines are losing power," Tigh said.

"Can we pull back?" Adama asked.

"Not with those two basestars right on top of us," Tigh replied.

Adama glanced down noticing the Pegasus engaged against several ships. He could expect no help there. Perhaps it was poetic justice that the Galactica be destroyed here.

Another hit causing one of the bridge supports to collapse. He watched as Athena and Rigel quickly put out a fire before continuing their jobs. No one complained, or even seemed to fear that the battlestar might be destroyed. They all did their jobs.

"I see you need a bit of help," a voice said. Adama glanced at the screen to see Kim's face there.

"A bit, we seem to have developed basestar trouble," Adama said.

"We're on it, the Richelieu took over fighting our basestar so we could help you out," Kim said.

"That means the Richelieu is fighting two basestars," Adama said.

"No problem for that ship," Kim said. "I only wish we had a fleet of them."

Another hit rocked the Galactica.

"Forward lasers are down commander," Tigh said.

"We'll come in and cover you," Kim said. "Be there in a few, um, microns I think."

"Thanks," Adama said. "Pull us back and towards the Warspite if you can."

He hoped the Galactica had enough in her to survive this one last battle.

BSGBSG

"Commander, we're in range," Troy said.

"Launch the remaining missiles," Ares said. He hadn't wanted to waste them so quickly, but if the Argo could knock out or destroy these two it would leave the Cylons with seven basestars instead of nine remaining. And with the Warspite and Richelieu, and the stealth of the Argo and Enterprise, he had faith they could win the battle.

"Galactica is pulling back from the battle," Troy said. "Warspite covering. The Galactica appears to have suffered engine damage."

Ares looked at the scanner noticing that the Galactica indeed moved away from the battle. The last battlestar Ares needed to lose was the Galactica, the symbol of the Colonial struggle for so long. Such a lose could be devastating even if they won this battle.

"Missiles have hit," Troy said again. Ares' eyes moved to the two basestars watching the indicated damage swarm on the screen. One basestar the missile appeared to strike the heavy armor plating but still inflicted serious damage. It had stopped firing back for the moment. The other basestar he noticed high internal damage. It wouldn't last long and Ares figured it had been hit in the hanger allowing the missiles to bypass the heavy armor.

He heard Rebecca give a quick message back to Earth on the latest. He felt slightly relieved that Pratt had not contacted him at all. He also had no idea who else might be listening in on the communications.

"All hands, brace for impact," Troy's voice suddenly said.

Ares came out of his musing to see debris coming towards the Argo from the last basestar to explode. They had no chance to avoid it this time. The Argo rocked as the debris slammed into the outer hull and armor knocking him off his feet.

For a few seconds an unreal silence seemed to grip the bridge as Ares stood and glanced around. Alarms flashed indicating the damage to the warship. Then as if someone had turned up the sound the alarms rang to life and damage reports came in.

BSGBSG

"Captain, trouble!"

Scott looked over at his second in command waiting for whatever had happened.

"The Argo was hit by a large piece of debris."

"Damage?" Scott asked.

"Unknown, we've lost contact with her at the moment."

Scott thought about that for a few seconds before finally coming to a conclusion. The Colonial Bound wasn't involved in the combat, she didn't have the firepower to engage, but her scanners and equipment were being used by many in the fleet to relay signals to each other.

"Do we have a feed to Earth?" Scott asked.

"Yes captain."

"Put me though laddie," Scott said, watching his communications officer work quickly before nodding to him. "This is Captain Scott of the Colonial Bound, we've lost contact with the Argo at the moment, it was struck by a large piece of debris. It's still intact though."

He paused, almost waiting for a reply before remembering that the delay would be several seconds or more.

"All right laddies, let's keep them informed back home, we've got the eye in the sky to do it," Scott said. "And keep trying to raise the Agro."

BSGBSG

Troy made a quick glance around the bridge noticing that everyone appeared all right. He saw some damage to the computers but everything appeared to be coming back on line. He glanced at his own screen thankfully that it hadn't shorted out by any power fluctuations.

"Damage report?" Ares asked over the sound of the alarms.

Troy quickly brought up the screen which slowly brought up the damage to the ship.

"Appears it hit aft of the bridge, engines still operational, weapon systems are on manual, low power scanners are still working, and bringing communications back on line," Troy said, glancing back up at Ares. For a brief second Troy hesitated then continued on with his job.

"All right, nearest basestar then?" Ares said.

"One of the ones we attacked, reading power fluctuations, no return fire," Troy said.

"Some good news then, when will we have communications?" Ares asked.

"Their working on it," Troy said. "Having to reroute some wires, but the chief says a few minutes."

Troy glanced over to see Rebecca who had returned to her work station. He knew without communications she could do little in the battle. A brief thought went to Bri and Nall and if they knew what had happened to the Argo. They probably did considering communications had gone silent. He only hoped both of them would remain in combat and not worry about the battlestar.

He looked over the rest of the damage and realized that it would take a while in dock to repair the damage. The battlestar had taken some structural damage aft and on the beta landing bay. He hoped the battlestar held together for the rest of the battle.

BSGBSG

"Report Lucifer?" Baltar said.

"We've discovered a battlestar along out path, but it appears to have been severely damaged during the battle," Lucifer replied.

"A battlestar along out path, but you said there wasn't any when we left," Baltar replied. He didn't like the fact that a battlestar had appeared so suddenly.

"It appears battle damage has destroyed its ability to hide itself from our scanners," Lucifer said. "Shall we change course?"

The order stopped on Baltar's lips for a second while he thought about that. He had an opportunity that might not come along again for a while. No, he had to destroy a battlestar while he still could.

"No, we'll destroy it on our way out," Baltar replied.

"By your command Baltar," Lucifer said. "Any other orders Imperious Leader."

"Yes, when we're clear of the fighting order the retreat of the fleet," Baltar said. He watched Lucifer turn and carry out the order with the other Centurions.

He now had more information about the invisible battlestars that had plagued him for a while now. He knew there had to be more than what the intelligence had told him. He now had proof that some sort of stealth protection protected the ships. But there had to be a reason why only a few ships had it. It must be expensive or dangerous to make. Which meant few ships had it, maybe all this was done by one battlestar. Get rid of it, and their advantage is gone.

He felt a grin come to his lips at the thought of neutralizing Adama's advantage. But he still had to think of where the ships had come from. He knew of no construction yard which could build a battlestar in such a short time. That would be his next mission.

BSGBSG

Bri lined up another raider quickly destroying it but she felt her worry increase with each passing second. No one had heard from the Argo now in several minutes. Reports came in that the ships still returned fire, and it's engines still functioned but no communications. Vipers that had been heading to it for refueling turned to other battlestars. Every pilot knew that to land without communications was dangerous.

"Nall, you heard anything yet?" Bri asked.

"No, I'm sure their fine," Nall replied back, but she could hear the nervousness in his voice as well. She understood he was afraid for Rebecca as much as she was for Troy.

"Bri, a Cylon basestar heading towards the Argo," Jax's voice said.

Bri glanced down seeing the basestar in question. No doubt the ship was headed in the direction of the Argo and no other battlestar could head over to help. The vipers would have to do. She quickly looked at the squadrons before making a decision.

"Green and red squads, follow me," she said. "We have a basestar to destroy."

BSGBSG

"Adama, take a look at this," Tigh's voice said.

Adama walked over glancing at the scanner. The Argo had been damaged and now scanners picked it up rather well. That wasn't good news for the battlestar, but the basestar which had held back had started to move.

"It's got to be him," Tigh said. "Only Baltar would make such a cowardly move."

Adama looked at the scanners thinking about what else he knew about the man. He then realized something else.

"There's nothing else between him and leaving the battle once he gets by the Argo," Adama said.

"No," Tigh said, a few seconds later also looking at the scanners.

Adama turned to Athena, "do we have communications yet with the Argo?"

"No father, hold on, yes, sketchy but it's there," Athena said.

"Good, get me Commander Ares, "Adama said. He had a message for Ares, one he knew only the Argo could do.

BSGBSG

"Commander, incoming message from the Galactica," Rebecca said.

Ares turned to the screen to see a fuzzy image of Adama appear on the screen. He could see in the background the damage the Galactica had taken by the crew's work to remove a beam in the background.

"It appears that we're in a similar boat Adama," Ares said.

"Almost, you still have weapons," Adama said.

"And you still have landing bays," Ares said.

"So between us we have a fully functioning battlestar," Adama said, smiling.

Ares chuckled at the comment. "True, though I doubt you called to see about the weather over here," Ares said.

"Ah, no, Colonel Tigh and I were thinking, we know who's on board that basestar," Adama said.

Ares knew the moment Adama said anything. "Baltar."

"Yes, it has to be him. It's my belief that he's going to make a run for it," Adama stated.

"If he escapes this war won't end here," Ares said. "He's also responsible for millions of deaths. We won't let him leave."

"Green and red squadrons have moved to engage the basestar," Rebecca said.

Ares nodded knowing that with everyone engaged the Argo was the only battlestar that could stop Baltar. That would be a challenge seeing the damage the Argo had taken recently. The weapon systems were damage and he had fired the last of the Solimite missiles. Perhaps he could slow down the basestar enough so another one could join in. Either way, Ares swore that Baltar wouldn't be leaving the battle so soon.

BSGBSG

Gunther glanced down at the scanner knowing that the Argo would enter battle at a disadvantage. The Enterprise would be too far away to help, and it meant disengaging the current target. Something he didn't want to do.

The battle still seemed to be balanced, or slightly tipped in their favor. Allowing a basestar to escape however wasn't in the plans for the battle. They would destroy as many basestars as possible, and then destroy the cities on the planet below.

"The Galactica has successfully withdrawn."

Gunther glanced at the scanner which indicated the Galactica moving slowly away from the battle. The Warspite and Richelieu were currently engaged, and from the looks of things they were winning the battle. The Pegasus had pushed closer to the planet and currently had engaged several of the smaller ships.

His attention focused back on the Enterprise when another hit struck it. "Damage report."

"Slight damage to beta landing bay, shouldn't interfere with operations though."

Gunther nodded slightly relieved. Unlike the Argo, when damage occurred to the Enterprise it remained stealthy as its armor was comprised solely of the s-metal. The battle damage the Argo had taken had knocked off a large portion of the stealth metal rendering the Argo visible.

"Continue firing," Gunther ordered. "That basestar doesn't escape."

BSGBSG

"Report Lucifer," Baltar said. He had felt the basestar take a few hits but not the shaking hit from a battlestar.

"We are currently under attack from Colonial s," Lucifer said.

"And where are our raiders," Baltar asked. He had thought his fighters would have protected him.

"Our raiders are still engaged and losing heavily Baltar," Lucifer replied. "Our targeting scanners have a hard time locking onto the s."

"Then fire manually," Baltar replied.

"We have switched over to secondary targeting, but it is ineffective at the moment," Lucifer replied.

"And the battlestar?" Baltar asked.

"It has taken serious damage," Lucifer said. "It should be destroyed shortly."

"Good, when the path is clear get us out of here at the fastest speed," Baltar said.

"By your command," Lucifer said.

BSGBSG

Troy glanced across the bridge feeling a strong sense he'd seen this before and quickly realized where he'd seen it. He stood frozen for a moment not sure if he needed to say anything or not. He looked over at Commander Ares who seemed calm, relaxed for what was going on.

Another hit rocked the battlestar and a new report came to Troy that he relayed to Ares. "All weapons are now down."

Ares seemed to take everything in stride glancing across the bridge looking at everyone.

"Very well," he said quietly so only Troy could hear.

Troy frowned slightly at the statement.

"Get me engineering," Ares said.

Troy worked quickly a few seconds later the chief engineer reported in.

"Colonel, we're in a bit of a mess down here, what do you need?" he asked.

"Chief, how are the engines?" Ares asked.

"Being totally honest, not good, that last hit got us good. I say we have a couple of minutes at full power, not more than that, but it might be enough to get us out of the battle," the chief replied.

"All right, on my mark give me everything you've got," Ares said.

Troy waited, knowing what might be coming next and not a thing he could do to stop it.

"Help, plot a new course, right at that basestar, and then give me control," Ares said. Troy watched him turn towards him. "Colonel Troy, sound the alarm, all hands, abandon ship."

Troy swallowed slightly before nodding slightly. Switching the speaker system on he cleared his throat. "Attention all hands, abandon ship, repeat, abandon ship."

Troy watched as several members began scrambling towards the escape pods. He paused waiting for Ares.

"Course set in," the helm officer said. He paused, glancing at the now almost empty bridge before heading to the life pods.

"Let's go," Ares said, pushing the execute command. They raced to the escape pods getting there with a few others who were making their last-minute escape as well.

Troy watched as Rebecca got on board looking back at him. He noticed a strange look on her face.

"All right, last serviceable pod," one man said.

"There isn't enough room?" another said.

"Everyone calm down, file on as much as possible," Ares' voice said.

Troy watched as almost everyone got on. Now he saw there was only room for one more. He started to say something when he was pushed into the pod crashing into the person in front of him. He managed to turn slightly to see Ares pull the level.

"It's where I belong Troy," his voice said as the door closed. Shocked Troy felt the escape pod leave the bay before he could even say anything.

The group inside quickly looked out the window. There they could see the Argo's engines burning brightly speeding towards destiny.

BSGBSG

"Baltar, a development has occurred," Lucifer said.

"What type of development?" Baltar asked.

"The battlestar has turned right for us," Lucifer replied.

"Well turn you idiot, turn," Baltar said.

"At the battlestar's current speed we cannot avoid being hit," Lucifer said.

The blood drained from Baltar's face at the knowledge.

"Then I must get to an escape pod," Baltar said, almost frantic.

"I'm afraid, basestars don't have escape pods," Lucifer replied.

BSGBSG

Ares stood back on the bridge, making a few course changes when the basestar had changed course. The frantic firing of the Cylon ship wouldn't be enough. The communicator came to life for one last time.

"Ares, you're not doing what I think you're doing?" Pratt's voice said.

Ares smiled before hitting the reply. "Yes I am my friend. Take care of everyone, I know you will."

He flipped a switch causing the shield to swing up giving him a view of space. In a brief instant he saw a vision of Bri, Troy, Nall and Rebecca, older, their hair grey, surrounded by loved ones. He knew he had done the right thing. They would survive. He could go peacefully now, knowing his job had come to an end.

The barest brush against his arm caused him to turn. He looked down into a pair of brown eyes he had not seen in yahrens before looking back at the viewport.

"I wondered if I'd meet you now, once more Jewel," Ares said.

"I have always been with you," she replied. "Only now are you calm enough to hear me."

Ares chuckled at that.

"They are lovely, I'm proud of you."

The basestar filled the viewport now. The last time he could recall such a sight, he flew a viper. He felt Jewel wrap an arm around him. He felt no fear, but instead leaned towards her. He was coming home.

Continued in Remembrance


	79. Chapter 79: Remembrance

**Battlestar Argo**  
By  
AJ Marks

**Remembrance**

Pratt stood in silence at the last transmission from the battle. He couldn't believe it but somehow he knew.

"Captain Scott here, Argo destroyed."

Pratt sat down words rushing around but he heard none of them. The Argo destroyed.

"Cylon basestar also destroyed."

Pratt vaguely became aware as Eric changed the Cylon numbers then slowly, almost hesitantly crossed out the Argo's name.

"Commander Adama is taking charge," Scott's voice said.

"Did that just happen?" Olsa's voice said.

"Yes, the Argo is gone," Pratt said, before pushing a button to the bridge. "Get me Weaver and the Orion, General Pakrov, and Chin and Sam Harvey."

"Yes sir."

BSGBSG

Adama registered the destruction of the Argo in his mind, but knew better than to brood over it. They were still in the middle of a very important battle.

"Tigh, open communications to the fleet," Adama said.

"Line open Adama," Tigh said.

"This is Commander Adama to the fleet, this battle isn't over yet. The Galactica will take over coordination of command. We will win this battle," Adama said. "Omega, coordinate viper squadrons to where they are needed, work with Bri of Green squad."

"Yes sir," Omega said.

Adama watched the atmosphere of the Galactica return to normal. Everyone had their duties and they had performed it for yehrens. They knew they had to win this battle.

"Cylon forces appear in disarray," Tigh said.

"Baltar was on board, now they are leaderless," Adama said. "We have them Tigh, we really do."

"Commander, weapon systems back on line," Tigh said.

"Take us back in then," Adama said. "Head over to pick up the escape pods from the Argo."

BSGBSG

Troy felt the escape pod touch down on the hanger deck of one of the battlestars. The door opened and he walked out, being the first one on board he was the first on off. He glanced around noticing he was on board the Galactica.

"Troy!"

He turned to see Bri and Nall standing nearby. Bri appeared crying as she ran towards him. He hugged her as almost launched herself into his arms. He glanced over to see Nall walking towards Rebecca.

"I saw the Argo run into the basestar, but wasn't sure you made it out alive," Bri said.

"We did, Ares pushed me in, there wasn't room for anyone else," Troy stated.

"I know," Bri said.

"Yeah, I think he knew, and I knew," Troy said. "I think I was trying to change it."

"Well, I'm glad you and Rebecca made it," Bri said.

Troy turned to see Nall and Rebecca still embraced. A strange thing for someone who lived as a ladies man for so long. Now he appeared as if he'd never let Rebecca go. Troy wrapped an arm around Bri's shoulders.

"Let's see what's going on," Troy said.

"Colonel Troy," a voice said. Troy looked up to see Apollo heading towards him.

"Captain, what's the situation?" Troy asked.

"We won the battle," Apollo said. "Adama has ordered the fleet back to the Colonies to regroup and repair. But the Cylon presence here is over."

"That leave the outer cities, and few ships remaining," Troy stated.

"Nothing we can't handle now," Starbuck said. "I don't think anyone here will be willing to stop until they are all gone."

"From the colonies, no, Earth however, I've heard some things about the new President," Rebecca said. "Commander Ares' wasn't impressed with the man and his ability to grasp the situation."

"How many others did we lose?" Troy asked.

"One battlestar, three cruisers, and four destroyers," Apollo said.

Troy nodded, while the losses were real, the fleet still would hold a great advantage now over the remaining Cylons. And with reinforcements on the way things would end quickly for the Cylons.

"Adama has already formed a strike group against the shipyards," Starbuck stated.

Troy nodded, with the majority of the Cylon fleet destroyed, they could go and systematically destroy the remaining pockets of the Cylon empire.

"Colonel, the Commander is waiting for you in the meeting room," Tigh's voice said.

BSGBSG

Adama sat at the head of the table now the commander of the fleet. A position he understood and easily stepped into once more.

"The Pegasus will need some time for new repairs, the alpha hanger was damage and out ability to launch fighters is hampered," Tolan said.

"The Enterprise wasn't hit much, after rearming my crew is ready," Gunther said.

Adama knew that the Richelieu and Warspite were also ready to head back into battle. That gave him three battlestars.

"First our scout ships will target the next Cylon base for attack, it will be their next largest dockyard," Adama said. "Then we go after the mines."

He watched the group nod their head but no one really gave any different opinions.

"I think we should have a service though," Kim said. "I don't know about you, but Commander Ares is a hero on Earth."

Adama sat back looking around at the group. True, Ares even among the survivors Ares had a bit of Commander Cain status.

"I suppose so, but what are we talking about," Adama said.

Before anyone could reply Tigh's voice interrupted him. "Commander Adama, please come to the bridge at once."

Adama sighed before excusing himself and heading up to the bridge. On the bridge he had a lot of confused people.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"We don't know Adama. It started only a few minutes ago. Wild readings on the scanners focused on one area of nearby space," Tigh said.

"Cylon?" Adama asked.

"If it is, we've never run across anything like it," Tigh said.

Adama thought about saying more when the readings changed. He watched as the scanner showed something he thought would be impossible, space folded in on itself. In one second everything appeared strange and the next, a ship suddenly appeared. Adama froze at what he saw.

"Incoming communications from the ship," Tigh said.

"Put it though," Adama said, knowing that if they were communicating they probably were not hostile. His assessment proved correct when Commander Pratt's face appeared on the scanner.

"Commander Adama," he said. "I see we made it."

"I see so, but what," Adama said, bewildered as to what had happened.

"Ah, the Orion, a new, or is that old, well it's an experimental ship," Pratt said. "A new gate drive allows us to move from one point in space to another in mere minutes instead of months or years."

Adama stood stunned into silence.

"I have a few people who wish to come over," Pratt said.

"Um, permission granted," Adama said. "I'll meet you myself, Tigh please inform the war council that we'll be expecting a few more people."

"Yes sir," Tigh said.

Adama walked off the bridge towards the hanger to greet his visitors.

BSGBSG

Troy refilled his water glass sitting down still slightly in shock over the fact the Argo really was gone along with Commander Ares.

"What colony was Commander Ares from," Kim finally asked.

"Aquarius," Troy replied.

"Really, a warrior from that group, who'd have thunk it," Gunther said.

Troy laughed slightly at that noticing the strange faces. "Aquarius is known more for their scientists than war leaders."

"Most of the good leaders come from Caperica," Gunther said.

"Wonder what's taking Commander Adama so long?" Kim finally asked.

"Must not be that big of a deal, Tigh said we're expecting more members," Troy said, not sure who that would be. All he could think of was a few more ship captains and maybe the dockyard captain.

The door opened and Troy stood slightly stunned as Adama, then Pratt, Sam Harvey, Xai Chin, President Osla and a few members of the Council of Twelve walked in.

"Commander?" Troy said.

"Colonel Troy, good to see you again after so long," Pratt said.

"Um yeah, but how, why, where, of, the Orion," Troy said his bring starting to work.

"Yep, the gate drive is fully operational on the Orion. We can use it ot send fuel, supplies and warriors to the front in minutes," Pratt said.

"Why are you here though?" Troy finally asked, speaking for most everyone in the room.

"A ceremony for Commander Ares," Pratt said.

"It was felt that because he's done so much for both of our groups of humanity, to do nothing would be a disservice to his memory," Xai said.

"And we agreed, and its felt that the ceremony shall be here at the colonies, on one of the battlestars," Adama said. "I suggested the Galactica."

Troy understood his vision suddenly. He knew what he had seen on the hanger deck and how it tied into the destruction vision he had.

"Then we should make plans," Adama said.

"And broadcast it back to Earth," Xai said.

"What about the Cylons," Sam said, speaking up for the first time.

"They are on the run, and shattered. The last time they were in such a position humankind back off. This time, we're going to finish the war," Adama said.

"Then you're committing genocide," Olsa said.

"It may be, but the Cylons, except the organic Cylons are already gone. Destroyed by their very creations and they only want destruction for humanity, we've talked to them, and even tried to please them. In return, they almost destroyed us, and if for not for the actions of a few men, we wouldn't be sitting here today," Adama said, pinning Olsa with his eyes daring him to counter any point Adama had said.

"Commander Adama is right," Xai said. "When the news broke, the papers and reporters were saying how people felt, sad, stunned, and yet unified to finish what he was a part of."

"I think the press core can handle the arrangements," Sam said.

Troy watched as the sketchy outline of the events would occur were laid out before they finally were released. He walked out heading to find Bri. Walking into the room he was surprised by a shout of "Uncle Troy!"

He barely had time to brace himself as a flying dark-haired girl wrapped her arms around his legs.

"Well, hello Mary, how are you doing?" Troy said, only slightly surprised at seeing the youngster. He didn't know that the Orion had picked up more than a few passengers.

"You don't seem that shocked to see her," Bri said.

"Not really, we had some surprise visitors during the last meeting. Commander Pratt and a few others arrived," Troy said.

"Ah, should have known," Nall said. "So, what's the verdict?"

"A memorial for Commander Ares," Troy said. "I'll know more when they finalize everything."

"Well, right now I want to know what everything was about between Bri and the commander," Nall said. "You said wait until after the battle, well, it's over."

Troy glanced at his wife waiting to see what she'd say.

"Well, I'm pregnant."

BSGBSG

Sam Harvey glanced down at the schedule of events that had been scheduled. He had one speech, something he had a hard time working on. He thought back to that time so long ago, when he had first met Ares. He had thought the man's name had to be a joke, no one named their kids after Greek gods or goddess, at least not after the god of war!

After meeting him Sam had to admit he liked the man. Someone who spoke from his heart tempered with his mind. He always seemed one step ahead of his enemies, either on the battlefield or the political field. He thought back to when the first meeting between humans and the Arbus had been scheduled. Ares hadn't believed the Arbus one bit to the point he took off with the Argo only to reappear at that disastrous meeting. Sam almost died in that meeting.

"Problem?" Xai said, sitting down across from Sam.

"Just my speech, nothing unusual," Sam replied.

"Ah, the Commander Ares. You know I still remember my first meeting with the fierce commander," Xai said. "I had been recently elected to the council. He strode in overriding everything and everyone regarding the Arbus and the war. I have to say he's probably the main reason we survived that battle. I never realized his determination until after I became President and learned of the Cylons."

"His first priority," Sam said. Ares had been driven, much like another commander he had heard of, Cain.

"I think the universe has a way of evening the balance out over time. Men like Ares and his type show up when things become too desperate," Xai said.

"Sounds like an old Chinese proverb or something," Sam said.

"No, just simple observation of time," Xai said. "I believe Osla is in for a hard time now. I'm glad to no longer be President."

"Oh," Sam said, a bit surprised. "Can't say I liked my time as president."

"Yours was probably the hardest, most trying time of recent human history. Organizing Earth which had almost ceased as we understood it once more," Xai said. "No, I had the constant war, the threat from the Arbus, and then the Cylons. Olsa only has the Galactic Council, and they are wimps."

Sam laughed at that. He only had to deal with them as an advisor, not as the leader. "It's a bit hard to believe though, I've known Ares and his group almost since they arrived. I never expected this."

"Don't think anyone was," Xai said. "But he opened the door for a more lasting peace in our galaxy."

"I hope you're right, I really do," Sam said.

BSGBSG

Troy wrapped an arm around Bri as they made their way down to the hanger bay of the Galactica. He saw many who he knew, especially those left from the original voyage of the Argo from the Colonies. He understood that for many of them, they mourned not only the loss of Commander Ares, a friend, but also the Argo, a home.

Troy spotted Gunther, the original leader of red squadron, before he had been promoted and Jax took it over. He spotted several of the crew from other departments, and a few engineers one of whom he recognized had followed Able, or Ilbis. They had lost many of their ranks with the Arbus war, and later against the Cylons even with the technologic advantages they held.

Renee, stood off the side, one of the original bridge crew, and now in command of the Fire Ant. A command she had held since the ship had been built. Much the same as Pratt still commanded the Daedalus. The hardest hit group had been the pilots, few remained over the years. Jax, Bri, and Nall were but a handful who still flew others like Gunther and himself had retired from the cockpit stepping up to command positions.

Troy and Bri stepped up beside Nall and Rebecca, who had Mary with them. Glancing down the hanger people from all over the fleet had gathered. A raised platform had been elected and standing on it he saw Pratt, Xai, Sam, some of the council of twelve, and the current President of Earth. Behind them, the flags of Earth and the colonies stood out, and behind that, on the wall, a large picture of Ares. Troy briefly wondered how the commander would have accepted all this ceremony for him.

"Well, quite a turn out," Nall said interrupting his thought.

"Yep," Troy said. "Have Jax and Boomer set a date yet?"

"Next week, they want Commander Adama to seal them, he said he would," Nall replied.

"Good for them," Bri said.

Troy turned his attention back to the front where Commander Adama approached the podium waiting until he had everyone's attention. "Welcome you all, this is a sad, yet great day in human history. Today, we celebrate a great victory over the Cylons, the perseverance of humanity from great dispair and how a few men and women can change the course of the universe."

Troy quickly glanced around knowing that Adama meant the entire crew of the Argo, not just Ares. They all stood slightly straighter, taller than they had been at Adama's words. Everyone seemed to understand Adama had meant them all and all and not only Commander Ares.

"Almost fifteen yehrens, or years for our friends from Earth, a group of commanders, led by the legendary Commander Cain, decided to build in secret a new battlestar. These wise commanders understood more than their leaders how the war against the Cylons was headed, and that if drastic actions were not taken, all might be lost. They picked a man who thought like them, who could act independently, without hesitation and do what needed to be done to undergo a mission never before undertaken in our history and to look for a legend. That legend, Earth," Adama said.

Troy remembered that voyage quite well. There were more than a few who never believed in Earth, until they found it. The adventures they had on that voyage strengthened them more than a normal voyage of a battlestar ever could.

"Along the way, this crew of orphans from the Colonies became a family, a family with a mission. That mission took them on a journey, upon which a commander of extraordinary talent oversaw. Commander Ares, a man who was created by legends and came his own legend among the stars," Adama said.

Troy couldn't argue that. In fact many of them had become heroes to an entire generation back on Earth. Many had died, and more had sprung up to take the torch and persevere.

"Under Ares' leadership they found Earth, in her most desperate time. A time which almost doomed humanity, but they fought, saving not only humanity, but other races, such as the Skartians. Ares understood what a warrior is. He protects and fights for those who cannot. He fought the Arbus, even knowing that another half of humanity fought against extinction from the Cylons. And with Earth, and their fight to survive, they defeated the Arbus, freeing an entire sector of the galaxy creating a new way of life. But even as the ashes of that war cooled, he received news that halfway across the galaxy the Cylons had managed to destroy the Colonies."

Troy could remember that day still sitting at the desk when the word came fo the destruction. They all had the feeling that they had failed the mission. The only real glimmer of hope had been news that the Galactica had survived.

"Ares had a habit of showing up at the right moment. The Galactica leading the few survivors had been found by the Cylons after fleeing the colonies. The Galactica outnumbered, and out gunned fought for survival when Ares with the Argo and the fleet from Earth arrived turning the tide against the Cylons. It was Ares who wanted to finish the war against the Cylons. With new technologies from Earth we have almost succeeded. I won't rest until his vision become reality," Adama said. "To do anything else, would tarnish the memory of Commander Ares."

Troy glanced slightly over to where the President stood. He hoped the man understood now exactly what the Cylons were and how dangerous they were. Troy watched Commander Adama step down from the podium allowing another person to step up. Troy watched as the others dignitaries spoke with varying lengths before finally Pratt stepped up, the last speaker. Troy wondered what Pratt would say and had a feeling his speech would deal more with the crew of the Argo and how Ares fit into their lives.

"Commander Ares was my commanding officer, but he was more than that to those who served aboard the Argo, he was my friend, my brother. To others, a father, or an uncle," Pratt said. Troy noticed he glanced down at Mary before continuing. "We were a family thrown together and forged out of necessity, and loyalty. He cried for those who died, and rejoiced for new additions to the family even though he, like I, were confirmed bachelors. I think we were married to our ships too much to get involved with another girl."

Troy and a few others laughed at that. Ares rarely left the Argo except for important functions.

"Knowing Ares, he understood when the Argo was dying, and he ordered the death of the ship that he wouldn't be leaving. He understood more at that moment than most men do in a lifetime of trying to understand the universe, and he was at peace with himself, and the universe. Now we say farewell to one who touched so many," Pratt said. "Good-bye old friend."

Troy blinked back a few tears as he stood behind Bri. He wrapped his arms around her as she leaned back into him in the moments of silence that followed the commander's speech. He placed his hands on Bri's stomach, knowing a new life was growing there. The Cylons hadn't been eliminated yet, but their threat was minimal now. And after the Cylons, he felt sure there'd be new challenges, but that would be for another day.

The End (for now)!

AN: First off, I wish to thank you all for reading the story, hoped you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it. Second, I know, I said 80 parts, but I miscalculated when I was putting the parts together.

When I started writing this story, I had a list of characters, and an end scene. The one where they are all standing there at Ares funeral, and Troy had his arms wrapped around Bri. It turned out to be a very interesting journey.

As for a sequel, I do not see one at this time. I have tried a few times, but the storyline isn't there yet. Maybe one day I'll have a good plot for a sequel. Instead I am turning to another BSG story, the Milsian Princess. Look for that one to be posted here in the future. A much shorter work, about 50k words instead of this monster 335k.

Again, thanks to you all for reading it, and hoped you enjoyed it.


End file.
